Shadows of the past
by Besweet
Summary: Kasumi had moved on with her life and was no longer being hunted down by her clan. Same with Hayabusa, he too had moved on and was no longer her guardian. But what happened when circumstances reunite them after years of not seeing each other.
1. Chapter 1

_**Author's note:**_ **Funny thing about this story is that I already know the ending to it, I'm excited about this. Hope you like it.**

 **Review and let me know what you think. Good or bad, I would like to hear your honest opinion.**

 _ **Disclaimer:**_ **I do not own any of the familiar characters. All characters belong to Koei Tecmo and Team Ninja.**

 **Happy Reading!**

* * *

 **~Shadows of the past~**

 **New York**

Ryu stood looking out the large glass window from his apartment in New York City. The apartment was on the top floor where he got a good view of Central Park. It was a rainy day. Rain splattered hard against his windows. His mind wandered to his past, back to his last days as her guardian exactly four years ago when her brother confirmed her released from her sentence of being hunted down by her own clan. They spent few last days together before finally parting their ways for good. Ryu had since then moved to the United States and had moved on with his life. He had taken a small break from his shinobi duties. It had gone four years. His father hadn't complained to him about his absence yet and he didn't bring it up either assuming he wasn't needed in his village at this point.

It took him a while to be able to stop worrying about her. For many years, he was her protector ever since they were younger and up until that final day. A little part within him still worried for her. _Kasumi…_ He wondered where she was right now, and how her life had turned out after everything. He kept in touch with her brother Hayate. Though Hayate had never mentioned on how Kasumi was doing, and after he moved away from Japan, Hayate seemed to be a lot colder towards him. He had never asked why but felt a slight resentment from his beloved friend. If it was about him taking a long break from the shinobi duties, then he didn't need Hayate's permission on how to live his life. Hayate had made a few remarks in the past about Irene seducing him away from his duties and responsibilities for her own selfish needs and that he was a fool. Ryu shook his head and let out a sigh at the thought. Not once had Hayate thanked him for looking out after his sister, and he had the nerve to judge him. Hayate needed to learn to mind his own business.

His eyes suddenly tracked down to the street toward a black Lexus that just drove into their condominium garage. A faint smile emerged on the corner of his lips. His wife was home as she had promised. They hadn't spent much time together these last few months. With him running an antique shop and his wife being a CIA agent, it wasn't easy for them to find quality time. However, they had discussed this and had agreed on cutting a little back on their work, so they could have normal dinner together at home as a husband and wife at least a couple times a week.

Then Ryu thought back on how he met his wife. He met her on a mission outside of his country. Irene was no doubt a hot beautiful western woman, with short blonde hair and crystal blue eyes that could make any man's heart weak at the sight. He didn't pay much attention to her at first, because his duty was always before anything else and there was just no time for a shinobi to love. At times, he was annoyed at the fact that Irene was too gutsy for her own sake. He had he warned her many times to stay away from him if she wanted to live, but she was still determined to help him knowing she might die.

But he was used to stubborn women. Kasumi was even more stubborn than Irene. One evening years ago during a mission to save her brother Hayate from DOATEC, he had lost his cool due to her stubbornness. Until this day he regretted deeply for putting his hand on Kasumi. He had slapped her hard across her face sending her flying to the ground for refusing to listen to him and the worst part was that he had hit her in front of Irene. Kasumi ran away upset to her core, and when he found her that night, he felt ashamed when he saw his reddish hand print on her right cheek. He tried to apologize but instead they ended up having verbal blow argument. He was afraid to lose her as he had promised her brother to keep her safe. He wasn't quite sure if she had forgiven him for the incident. It was never mentioned again after that night.

The day after that, Irene gave him a piece of her mind as well for what he did and how it was unacceptable to her. After he explained why, she eventually understood. Back then, Irene was always flirtatious around him. It took him a while to let her in but slowly he started to get fonder of her and started to enjoy working with her more and more where they began to grow closer, and with time, their work-relationship turned into something more romantic and personal. He didn't however pursue Irene fully until Kasumi's sentence was terminated.

The doorbell rang.

Sighing his thoughts away, Ryu went to open the door and greeted his wife a kiss. Dinner was already set on the table, he was not much of a cook, but he knew how to make spaghetti. Irene however seemed to have other plan in mind than dinner as she had missed her husband dearly.

"We should eat before the food gets cold." He whispered while nuzzling on her neck.

"I can't help it when my husband is so hot." She let out a teasing giggle.

 **Tokyo, Japan**

Kasumi sat in front of her mirror in her nightgown brushing out her soft long auburn hair. It had finally grown back to the same length she had four years ago. Her siblings Hayate and Ayane had made negative remarks on her short hair, that they preferred it long on her. She had kept it short for a while for a reason. After her brother Hayate let her go of her sentence, the first thing she did was to cut her hair. She wanted to start over with everything in her life, free from the shinobi rules and duties. By cutting her hair was a spiritual part of her new beginning, her _Freedom_. Hayate wanted her back in the village but Kasumi had another plan in mind.

For years during her runaway days, she had thought about moving to the city and lived her life as a regular civilian. Hayate strongly disagreed at first but eventually he was okay with it. That was four years ago. Now she was a chef in a restaurant and has her own apartment. Life had not been easy for the former Mugen Tenshin kunoichi, but life had never been this good to her either. She had lost most of her teen years by being a runaway shinobi and now that she was free from being pursue by her own clan, all she needed to worry about was pursuing her own dream. Kasumi then smiled to her own reflection in the mirror.

The soft knocks to her bedroom door suddenly grabbed her attention. She quickly went to open it and looked down to a little brown-haired boy in his blue cartoonish pajamas holding a pillow in one hand and a baby blanket in the other. Kasumi lowered herself to a kneeling position to meet her three-year-old son's eyes level and then placed both hands on his shoulders.

"Tenzou, what are you doing up this late?" She asked in her soft voice while instinctively feeling her son's forehead in case he was warm and had catch a fever. He would usually come and sleep in his mother's room when he got sick.

"Mama, can I sleep with you?" He gave her a scared look followed with pouty mouth and teary eyes.

Since his temperature was fine, Kasumi assumed that it was something else that had scared him.

"The nightmares are back again huh?"

Tenzou only nodded and began softly sobbing. Kasumi quickly drew her son close and wrapped her arms around him hushing him to calm down.

"It's okay, it's just a bad dream. You can sleep in my room tonight." She then lifted him and carried him towards the bed. Kasumi lowered Tenzou into bed, pulling the cover up his shoulders, placed a quick kiss on his forehead and turned off the light. The room was still bright due to the moonlight that had filled most of the room through the window. Sighing, Kasumi crawled into bed next to her son.

"Mama…" Tenzou opened his green sleepy eyes.

"What is it?"

"When will papa come back?" He asked.

Kasumi's eyes quickly shifted toward the nightstand at a picture frame of her and her husband, or more precisely ex-husband as they had just recently got divorced. She ran her hand across his cheek, softly stroking it while she thought of an answer. He hadn't come nor seen them ever since he moved out.

"I don't know baby, I'm sorry…"

Tenzou then shifted closer to his mother and drifted back to sleep in her arms. The safest place for a child to be. Kasumi kissed the top of his head, letting the slight moonlight filter in where it glinted on a solitary tear, sliding down her smooth cheek.


	2. Chapter 2

The next Morning began as a day like any other. Kasumi woke up precisely at six o'clock to start her busy morning routine. Now that she was a single mother there was a lot more to do than usual. She took a quick glance out the window and it was still dark out. One would think the road would be empty at six in the morning but living in the middle of a big city was quite the opposite. However, she had gotten used to the city noise by now. Kasumi then turned her gaze to her son that was still peacefully asleep in her bed and sighed, thinking about what he had asked her last night. He had been having nightmares ever since his father left them. But how would she explain to a child that his father might never return?

She also hadn't had time to grief of her failed marriage because Tenzou was her priority. Kasumi just didn't have time to stop, as she had to force herself to move on… but now and then, she shed a silent tear when bad memories became unbearable. She couldn't force her ex-husband to become a father if he didn't want to and raising her son on her own wasn't a problem since she had always been on her own and had overcome many obstacles in her life. This was no difference. However, children have a unique ability to blame themselves for everything that happen between their parents and she tried her best to remind Tenzou that it wasn't his fault his father left.

It was time to wake up her son to get him ready for kindergarten. Then Kasumi would make quick breakfast and pack lunch for him. Later, Tenzou walked into the kitchen while trying to put on and button his own shirt but it was on the opposite way. Kasumi smiled and chuckled at the sight. She walked over to him to help.

"No, mama…I can do it."

"I know you can, but since we are in a hurry it would go faster if I help you." She smiled and Tenzou let her.

After a quick breakfast, they headed out into a busy street. Kasumi looked down at her son who was yawning his eyes out. He seemed sleepy still. She took his hand so they could start going but he refused and pouted. Kasumi sighed and bent down to his level.

"What's wrong?"

He didn't want to say but kept on looking down and rubbed his eyes in annoyance. She guessed that he was still tired and a little grumpy since he didn't get much sleep last night. Kasumi decided to carry him instead, and she guessed right, Tenzou fell asleep on the way to kindergarten. Once she delivered him, she headed to work at the restaurant.

The day passed by rather quickly for Kasumi since it was a busy day at the restaurant. She looked at the clock on the wall while changing her work clothes back to casual. _Time to pick up Tenzou._ Usually her ex-husband would pick him up around three but since she wasn't out of work until after four, Tenzou would have to be in the kindergarten a few hours longer than usual. Once she stepped outside, a frustrated sigh escaped her as it was pouring out. Good thing that she had an umbrella with her.

Soon after at the kindergarten, a woman opened the door. "Kasumi…?"

"Hello Mrs. Chiyo, is Tenzou ready for me?" Kasumi asked. She was drained and tired after a long day at work, but nothing excites her more than to see her son after a long day. She missed him too much even though she only hadn't seen him half the day. Mrs. Chiyo gave Kasumi a confuse stare making Kasumi a little confuse herself of why she only stood there and not go get her son.

"Tenzou is not here, they left a few hours ago."

Kasumi's eyes widened. "What? Left with who?"

"His father of course. I assumed you knew, I'm sorry about this…" Kasumi's silence made the woman frowned strangely, "Is everything alright?" The woman worriedly asked, noticing the concern look across Kasumi's face.

Kasumi didn't quite know what to think. "It's fine…just poorly arranged that's all. I guess I will be going, see you tomorrow." Kasumi lightly bowed and excused herself. The woman did the same.

Kasumi then headed back into the rainy busy street, and question after question bombarded her mind. Why did he just show up and took her son without her knowing? should she worry? she tried not to panic and just hurried home hoping to find them there. Paranoia attacked her conscience, a lot of scary things ran through her mind, such as, what if he tried to take her son far away from her. What if she never sees him again…then Kasumi told herself to stop, as he wasn't that kind of man. They might have problems, but he would never do that to her. Tears ran down her cheeks not realizing that they did, worried out of her mind, she just couldn't help it.

Once Kasumi arrived at her apartment complex, she prayed that he had taken her son home. Her hands trembled while grabbing the key out of her purse to unlock the door. _Please be here…_ she took a deep breath before opening the door. Once inside, she quickly marched towards the living room in full panic mode. Her feet relaxed, and she slowed down her pace at the sight of Tenzou sitting on his father's lap while he read him a book and Tenzou was laughing happily. Kasumi had never felt so relief at the sound that warmed her heart.

They turned and looked at her. Tenzou quickly climbed down his father's lab and ran towards Kasumi screaming in excitement.

"Mama!"

Kasumi hugged her son tightly, and a feeling of a complete relief escaped her chest, she could finally breathe normally again. She then lifted her head and gave her ex-husband a stare. Anger sliced through her, but she tried not to show it in front of her son. Tenzou then showed his mother what his father had gotten him.

"Mama, look what papa got me!"

Kasumi smiled, "Coloring stuff that you wanted huh, that is very cool." Inside she was burning with rage towards her ex-husband.

"I didn't get a chance to give him his birthday present..." He spoke.

Kasumi let out a frustrated sigh. "Hey, why don't you go color while I talk to your papa okay?" She softly told her son, and Tenzou happily nodded.

Kasumi then march to the kitchen and he followed. Once they were out of Tenzou's hearing range, she quickly turned to face him. "What the hell are you doing here, Takeshi?"

"Why else? I wanted to see my son." He replied as if she had asked him a stupid question.

"Do you realize what you put me through just now? Do you know what goes through a mother's head when she doesn't know where her child is?"

He slightly rolled his eyes. "You're being a little overdramatic, don't you think?"

Kasumi's eyes grew wide at how little considerate he was being, "I don't think I am, you disappeared and reappeared after a month and you expect me to trust you with my son?"

"Your son?" He felt insulted by her words.

Silence suddenly fill the air and frustration struck both. He wasn't getting it she thought, and they had been doing this for so long that nothing surprises her anymore. They could never agree on anything.

"You should have let me know that you would pick him up instead of worrying me to death." Kasumi tried again.

"Would you have let me see him if I did?"

Another silence surrounded them, Kasumi wasn't sure on how to respond to that.

"I thought so." He shook his head.

"Don't try and put this guilt on me…do you have any idea what you've put him through? He has been having nightmares almost every night asking about his father, he waited all day for you to show up on his birthday last week until he fell asleep tired of waiting." Tears formed on the corner of her eyes, though Kasumi tried all she could to not let them race down her cheeks.

At least he looked sorry.

"If you want to punish me that's fine, but don't do that to our son. If you want out, then just stay out…" unable to contain her sadness any longer, tears raced down her cheeks, but she quickly wiped it away before they manage to drip from her chin.

"Kasumi…" He stepped a little closer to her.

Suddenly the doorbell rang and got both of their attention. Kasumi walked pass him to go get the door at the same time wiping the rest of the tears. She wouldn't want anyone to see her in that emotional state. Though, she wondered who it could be since she wasn't expecting any visitors that day. Kasumi opened the door and peeked out. Before she could greet the person, Tenzou ran from the living room towards the door in excitement.

"Uncle Hayate!" He screamed repeatedly and jumped hug his favorite uncle. Kasumi couldn't help but smiled because she knew how much her son adored her brother. Hayate happily responded the hug and teased his nephew who he wished he could see more often.

Kasumi then frowned at Hayate's bag, wondering why he had brought his travelling bag with him. Hayate got inside but he stood frozen at the sight of Takeshi walking out from the kitchen. An immediate awkward silence surrounded them all. The tension was high between the adults. Takeshi decided to break the silence first.

"I guess I should go…" He said, feeling like he had overstayed his welcome.

Tenzou quickly ran up to him begging him not to leave. Takeshi knelt and put his happy face on, "I will see you soon, I promise." He assured but it didn't ease Tenzou.

"No, papa stay." He pouted and it broke Kasumi's heart. Hayate only observed in silent. Tenzou began crying and Takeshi didn't know what to do, he drew his son into a hug and then continued walking towards the door. Kasumi signed for Hayate to take Tenzou away while she followed Takeshi to the door.

"I want him this weekend." He said to her.

She didn't respond nor made any eye contact with him but held the door open.

"Kasumi, I have the right to see my…"

"Fine. You can have him this weekend." She cut him off, "But if you don't show up…"

"I will and thank you." He noticed something on her finger. She was still wearing her wedding ring, which was funny because he was still wearing his. Sighing, he continued making his way out and Kasumi closed the door. Seeing him again after their divorce was finalized was rather strange and emotional to her.

As if her energy wasn't drained enough, now she wondered why Hayate showed up out of the blue. Hayate managed to calm Tenzou down and he went back to coloring. Kasumi and Hayate marched to the kitchen to talk. She started preparing hot water to make tea.

"Why the surprise visit?" She asked him. But then something concerning suddenly hit her, "Oh no…is mother and father okay?"

"Relax, they're fine. I just stop by before I leave the country. Though, they miss you back home and it wouldn't kill you to go back and let Tenzou meet his grandparents, you know."

Kasumi sighed. "Hayate, how many times have we been through this? They can come and visit us anytime they want, you know I can't go back there."

"Why not?"

Now he was getting on her nerve, as her brother had the perfect timing for everything. "I'm really not in the mood to talk about this right now so can you just leave me alone about it?"

Hayate calmly took the cup from her hand. "I can do it, I didn't mean to upset you."

"I'm sorry…it's just that…" Kasumi felt a little bad.

"You're clearly exhausted Kasumi, and you don't have to be alone about everything, you know." He spoke with his back facing her as he prepared tea, but his tone was soft and caring.

"But I am though, especially lately…"

Hayate then brought two cups of warm tea and took a seat. Kasumi studied her brother from across the table.

"So, are you going to tell me where you're going?"

"No." He replied as he sipped from his tea.

"If I guess, will you let me know?"

Hayate thought about it. "You can try but I doubt you will get it right."

Easy, thought Kasumi, "Germany."

"I wish…"

"So, you're not going to tell me?"

"Nope."

"Whatever…" She was disappointed because she was curious.

"Have you ever thought about visiting Hitomi?" She curiously asked about his old crush.

"No, as I haven't seen nor heard from her in over three years…I think my chances with Hitomi are pretty much gone. She has probably moved on by now, so I just left her alone." Hayate sighed.

After a brief of catching up, it was time for Hayate to leave before he would miss his flight. On their way out of the kitchen, they saw Tenzou had fallen asleep on the floor on top of his coloring books.

"I guess I better put him to bed. He hadn't been sleeping much lately…"

"I got it." Hayate insisted and walked over to his nephew, lifting him off the floor and carried him to his bedroom. After pulling the cover up his shoulders, Hayate placed a quick kiss on his forehead. Kasumi smiled at the sight. She then followed her brother to the door.

"I'm going to New York." He blurted suddenly.

Kasumi didn't respond.

"Do you want me to say hi to him?"

"No."

Her cold demeanor made him curious. "Once and for all, what's the deal with you and Ryu?"

"You don't know when to give up do you? No deal nothing…"

"Set it straight for me then, did he hurt you back then? What happened? It's like you don't even want him to know you still exist…"

Kasumi got really irritated with Hayate, but he won't seem to leave unless she gave him an answer. "We both have moved on that's all. Hayabusa has this thing that he worries too much, and I owe him his freedom after years of guarding me, you know? So, I don't want to bother him in any way."

"Alright, if you say so. But there's something you're not telling me Kasumi…and sometimes I wonder if Tenz…"

Kasumi frowned. "You wonder what?"

"Never mind, I'm going to be late, so I better run. See you when I get back." Hayate gave his sister a quick hug and disappeared out of there.


	3. Chapter 3

**New York**

Ryu sat in his living room with his face buried in his hands, sighing in annoyance. His wife was taking way too long time to change, and he was beginning to get impatient.

"Irene, are you ready or not?"

"You know, I don't appreciate the hostility in your voice. Choosing what to wear is not easy and I don't have anything to wear…" She replied in frustration from the bedroom.

He then headed back to their bedroom and leaned his shoulder against the doorway studying his half-naked wife. "Here is a crazy suggestion, how about clothes?"

Irene turned to him with a look that said back off, as she didn't appreciate his smartass comment at a time like this. Though she understood his annoyance of her stressing out about what to wear, but she couldn't help it.

"This is a big deal family dinner, and everyone will be there. You know how judgmental my sisters can be, we have this competition thing between us…"

Ryu sighed and threw himself on the bed. There were just certain things he didn't understand about women. A good ten minutes later, Irene found the dress she liked.

"So, how do I look?"

Ryu tilted slightly and studied the dress or studied her figure more than the dress. His eyes paused at her breasts.

Irene rolled her eyes, "I'm just going to guess that you like it."

He only smirked at that. Irene expected Ryu to get out of bed and to start making their way out of the apartment, but he continued to lay there stiffly staring at the ceiling. She climbed into bed and towered over him.

"What's wrong?"

He wasn't looking forward to the dinner. Every time he had joined Irene's family gathering, they've always found a way to grill him. Irene grew up with a big family where he was the only child and raised by a single father. No matter how hard he tried to show them how much he loved Irene all these years, they still didn't think that he was good enough for her.

Irene was frowning at him waiting for a response. He cupped her cheeks and drew her closer, so his lips could reach hers, "It's nothing…"

Though, Irene knew her husband well enough to know that it was more to it and she figured why. "If you don't want to go, we don't have to go. We can just tell them that we have to work or something…"

"I don't want you lying to your family. I'll be fine…" He forced another smile.

She gave him another kiss and pulled him out of bed to get going.

 **Hours later…**

They got home arguing. Irene was furious about something and Ryu had been trying to calm her down the whole way back. He closed the apartment door behind him, while Irene had already marched inside and began throwing her jacket and heels across the room mumbling to herself in frustration.

"Are you going to calm down now?" He asked rather softly.

"No, I'm not going to calm down. Why can't my family just be happy for me? and why are you so calm about this?"

He was about to answer…

"Why do I even bother, I mean you're always calm as if nothing can anger you."

Ryu frowned at her statement but held his silence and let Irene calm down on her own. She finally lowered down onto the couch and just sat there quietly, looking sad. She thought about what her mother and sisters said to her in private before she left. How they don't trust Ryu since they knew nothing about him. The only thing they know was that he was from Japan.

Her family had been hard on her lately, and Ryu figured he was the reason.

Irene then rose up, marched towards the large living room window and stared out. Ryu only looked her way, studying his wife a little. Something else was clearly bothering his wife. He walked over to her, then wrapped his arms around her. She immediately smiled as his big, strong arms seemed very protective when wrapped around her body, and she loved that. But still, not even his warm embrace could make her worries disappear.

"What's really bothering you?" He whispered.

Irene let out a heavy sigh, as she turned to face him while still in his embrace. "I just hate how my family treats you like a complete stranger after all these years, and I just wish that…"

"They don't bother me." He replied cutting her off.

"It's hard for them to trust you Ryu because they don't know anything about you."

He looked deeply into her crystal blue eyes, "They can't know about my background Irene, simple as that. Not that I don't want them to know but because the danger it will bring to your family, it's for their safety."

"I understand that, you know I do. But it can't be like this forever...I mean, what happen when we have kids one day? They are going to be playing an important role in their lives."

"They don't have to like me to love our children." He removed his arms off her and stare out the window thinking...

Silence surrounded the air around them.

The word _children_ made him think. If he and Irene were to have kids, how would they be raised? He was the sole heir to the Hayabusa clan and if he was to have kids, they would likely to be raised the shinobi way. Though he wasn't sure where Irene stand on that, and he had never dared to bring it up. That was one of the reasons why he didn't want to be a father yet, but he couldn't hide from the fact forever either.

"Irene?"

"Yes?"

"Where do you stand on children?" He looked sideways not completely facing her.

She too had been avoiding it, aware of their situation and how strict Ryu's tradition was and also what was demanded of him. Though she wasn't so fond at the idea of her kids would be raised and trained to be a cold-blooded killer. She had worked with Ryu countless time during his shinobi days, she had seen the brutality of a ninja. It was such a demanding and dark path to follow. Ryu was still sitting on an answer, so she replied without being too directly.

"I'm not crazy about the idea yet, but I would love to be a mother one day…what about you? Where do you stand on kids?" Her tone was reluctant. They were taking a careful approach to the subject they had been avoiding talking for years.

He took his time to answer.

"I'm not sure…it's still a confusing area to me. I don't want to lose you Irene, I lost someone before and I…" He stopped himself from continuing. He didn't even know where he was going with it.

"Lose me? Why would you lose me?"

He didn't respond but sighed instead.

"And who were you referring to just now?" She asked curiously.

"It was so long ago…" He got closer to her. "It's been a long night, let's go to bed?"

Irene smiled, "I guess but I'm not sleepy yet."

There they go again avoiding the subject, because deep down they both knew that it will lead to a strong disagreement. A decision that could ruin what they have.

He wrapped his arms around her waist and leaned close to her ear, "Who said we're going to sleep?"

Irene wrapped hers around his strong neck, "I like the way you think Mr. Hayabusa." She smiled seductively. He then lifted her bridal style towards their bedroom to have his way with his wife.

 **Next morning...**

Irene woke up before Ryu did. She began her morning routine before going to work. Not long after, Ryu woke up and joined her in the kitchen. She didn't have time to make breakfast, so she would have to get something on the way to work later.

"Good morning." She fondly greeted him.

He kissed her good morning as the response.

Irene then poured him his coffee because Ryu wasn't quite as awake yet. He looked lost and sleepy still making her smile at the cute sight.

"Irene…" He frowned at her.

"Yeah?"

"Are we expecting anybody today?" He asked strangely.

She frowned with him. "No, why?"

Suspicion touched his eyes, "I couldn't shake this feeling of a familiar energy that I've been picking up since last night, and it's getting stronger."

Irene put her cup down on the counter and leaned closer to him, "Should we be prepared?"

He gave it a thought, "No…nothing hostile just strangely familiar."

It didn't soothe her somehow and she was still looking at him with a concerned expression.

"I'm sure it's nothing, so don't worry." He assured.

Irene relaxed a little. "Okay I trust you if you say so, and I have to run before I'm late."

They shared a quick passionate kiss. Ryu then followed his hot wife to the door and closed it once she left. He decided to take a day off from the shop. He hadn't trained in a while and he wanted to spend his day catching up on his ninjutsu training instead. But he couldn't train with empty stomach.

Ryu opened the refrigerator and looked inside. Lately, he had been feeling a little homesick. He missed the Japanese traditional food and he had been thinking about his home country a lot more than usual. Nobody from back home had really reached out to him and he was beginning to think that they didn't care…was his father angry with him? not even from Kasumi… was she still angry with him? Ryu sighed wearily at his thoughts. Perhaps he was expecting too much due to how things went down between them in the past.

Soon, he found all the ingredients he needed to make pancakes. After preparing what needed, Ryu poured a good amount onto the hot pan, and while he waited for the pancake to be thick enough, so he could flip it to the other side, he let his mind wandered off a little. He thought back at the days when Kasumi was temporarily living with him in the Hayabusa village. She would often prepare his favorite dish which was miso soup, and she made the best miso soup in his opinion. He didn't quite get where Kasumi got her cooking skills, but she was natural. A gentle smile appeared on the corner of his lips without realizing that it did. A burning smell shook him back to reality and he just burned the pancake.

 _Damn it_ , now he had to start over. He scraped the burned pancake off the pan and placed it onto a plate. As he was preparing a new one, the doorbell rang. Ryu frowned curiously as who it could be so early in the morning. Maybe Irene forgot something? He thought and shrugged. He went to open the door.

Every muscle in Ryu's body stiffen, shock was registered on his face before it was washed off blank with confusion at the person standing in front of him.

"Hayate?"

"Good morning." Hayate smirked, as he loved the surprised look on Ryu's face just now. Hayate then grabbed his bag and invited himself inside the apartment while Ryu's jaw was still on the floor.

Ryu closed the door but did not remove his eyes off Hayate who he hadn't seen in a while. Curious and confuse, he marched over to his longtime friend.

"What in the world are you doing here, Hayate?" Still looking surprised.

Hayate didn't respond. He took his time looking around at the fancy apartment first.

"You're living large Ryu… you and Irene must be rich."

"Why are you avoiding answering my question?" A slight annoyance was hinted in his voice. Then Ryu's face clouded with full concern.

"Is everything alright with my father?"

Hayate laughed, "That's funny."

"What's so funny?"

"Oh, nothing." Hayate went to the window and looked out. "Damn, what a view…"

Ryu scraped his hands down his weary face in annoyance. "Why are you here?"

"When did you become such a nag?" Hayate turned to his friend with a silly frown.

"Just answer the damn questions, Hayate!"

"First of all, you need to calm down. Second, this is how you greet your best friend after many years?"

Hayate then shook his head since Ryu only continued to stare hard at him. "I'm here on a mission and since your father was the one who assigned me to this mission, so yes, he is well and alive. I needed a place to stay for couple of days… the reason I laughed was because I surprised visit Kasumi before I came here, and she too immediately assumed that there was something wrong with our parents. There, all answered, happy?"

Ryu let out a sigh of relief and his voice softened. "I just wish you would have let me know beforehand that you were coming that's all. Though I'm not sure if Irene will agree to let you to stay here…"

Hayate gave Ryu a poor pity me I have no place to stay eyes.

"That's just pathetic," But he couldn't help it. "Alright fine, I'll talk to her later."

Though he had to admit that it was good seeing Hayate again. Since he had been a little homesick lately, and Hayate couldn't have come at a better timing. He has friends in New York, but he felt often left out because he couldn't relate to them much. Having to keep his identity a secret was making it hard for him to be himself and to connect with others as he had to be careful with what he does and say. With Hayate, he could fully be himself since they shared the same background and grew up together.

"Hmm…" Ryu placed himself closer to Hayate.

"What?"

"You've gotten taller than me haven't you…it really has been that long huh."

Hayate laughed a little at that. Ryu then signed Hayate to follow him to the spare bedroom.

"Nice room..." Hayate looked around. "So clean…"

"Irene loves to keep everything spotless. She freaks out if she sees messes, so try and keep it clean or I will have to hear about it."

"Right."

"Are you hungry?"

"Always." Hayate quickly replied.

"Come join me in the kitchen for breakfast."

"Okay." He followed Ryu.

In the kitchen, he marched towards the plate with burned pancake on. He lifted the pancake and looked grossly at it. "Is this what people eat for breakfast here?"

"Ignore that one, I accidently burned it."

Hayate then observed Ryu fixing new set of pancakes. He studied his friend a little…

"Are you happy here, Ryu?" He asked out of the blue making Ryu turned with a deep frown.

"Where did that come from all of sudden?"

"Well, are you?"

"I wouldn't be living here for this long if I wasn't now, would I? not that it matters because when Irene sees you tonight, I'm dead anyway."

"You know that Irene is really not strong enough to kill you right?"

"Um, Hayate?"

"Yes?"

"Tell me something…are you still single?"

"Yeah, why?"

"It was just very telling that's all." He couldn't help but giggled. Hayate didn't quite appreciate Ryu's sarcasm but he let it slide on this one.

Soon, Ryu served two plates with pancakes and two glasses with orange juice. They took their seat at the table. Hayate didn't waste any time and began digging in. He seemed very hungry.

Ryu looked at him amusingly. "When the last time you ate?"

"On the plane but the food tasted horrible."

"Hold on, you got here by airplane?"

Hayate rolled his eyes and his mouth was full of food. "No, I swam across the Atlantic Ocean…of course I took airplane how else?"

Ryu sighed. "You know what I mean…"

"Well, I could have teleported I guess. But with all the duties and missions back home lately and now that father had fully resigned from his role as well, I wanted to be amongst the people and take my time to get here. Just to breathe a different air. It has been awhile since I've done that. Extra work is on me now that I'm in charged."

Ryu looked down to his plate. "So, you're the head of the Mugen Tenshin now, I see…" He said in a low voice.

"Hayate?"

"Yeah."

Ryu took his time before asking, and he hadn't touched his pancakes yet. "Why did my father send you all the way here on a mission when he could just reach out to me instead?" He asked strangely.

"I don't want to get into this, Ryu."

"Why not?"

"Because I can't talk to you about this without insulting your wife… If you want the proper answer, then you should talk to your father."

Ryu held his silence, as he wasn't sure how to feel at this moment. He had been in denial about the situation between him and his father.

"Right…what is this mission about?"

"I'm not allowed to reveal the information, not even to you. But I can say that it's an undercover mission to gather information for your father about the recent threat towards your clan. Besides from that it is classified. I would tell you more, but I have to work alongside your father, so I don't want any trouble with him. You understand right?"

"I understand perfectly."

Ryu got up from his chair, grabbed his plate, shove the untouched pancakes into a garbage can and then threw his plate into the sink. He leaned on the counter in frustration. Hayate observed his friend's sudden changed demeanor. Ryu might hate what he had to say but as a shinobi he had rules to follow.

After a moment of silence, Ryu calmed down a little and he was now curious about something else.

"So, how is Kasumi?"

"Fine."

"That's all you have to say?"

"What else is there to say?"

"Don't play this game with me Hayate, I deserve to know of her condition."

Hayate didn't like Ryu nagging about his sister. "She is fine, and that's all you need to know. Kasumi is not your concern anymore."

Hayate rose from his chair. "Look, I'm beat after a long flight and thank you for the breakfast Ryu." He left the kitchen and into his room to rest his eyes. He needed a few hours of sleep before he would go out on his mission.

Late that night, around midnight, Irene came home from work. The apartment was dark, but the city lights made it look brighter through their tall large glass windows. She took her raincoat and boots off by the door. She figured that Ryu was probably already asleep in their bed. Before she joined him, she wanted to make a quick midnight snack as she was starving after a long day. As Irene passed by the living room to go to the kitchen, she paused at the sudden sight of Ryu sleeping on the couch. He must have fallen asleep while reading again because his book was on the floor. A smiled appeared on her lips, thinking how she got to be so lucky to have a husband like him.

Ryu sacrificed everything to be with her, and lately she had been wondering if he perhaps had given up too much for her? His family, his friends and his duties. He hardly talked to anyone back home, and he hadn't had any desire to go visit his homeland either. Could she be the reason? If so, that was something she wouldn't want on her conscience.

Irene had never loved anyone the way she loved Ryu. Sometimes she feared that he would one day go back and fully committing his life to be a shinobi again. That he would stop loving her, making his clan and duties his only priorities like it had been in the past. How would she fit into his life? Guilt washed over her. Was she selfish for thinking the way she did just now? but she was just too afraid to lose him.

Irene changed her mind, she wasn't so hungry anymore. Her feet led her towards the couch to her sleeping husband. She got on top of him, unbuttoned her white shirt revealing her bra and began kissing his neck. Her touched woke him with a smile. His low moan increased her desire to play with him. It didn't take Ryu long to respond with the same lust. He slammed his lips to hers in fiery, passionate and demanding kind of kiss. Then he pulled away slightly as he remembered something.

"Irene…" He whispered.

She wanted him so bad she couldn't even think straight. Whatever it was that Ryu wanted to say could wait. Irene leaned in and pressed her lips onto his to silence him, Ryu didn't argue, he had forgotten what he wanted to say anyway as his wife was looking too damn hot to him now.

"Do you guys mind not doing that openly while I'm here…"

Irene jumped off Ryu in surprised, grabbed her gun from the table where she had put it earlier, turned around and pointed the gun at Hayate who was leaning against the wall nearby.

"That is the most useless weapon you can use against a ninja." Hayate smirked in amusement.

Irene was in complete shock, she looked at Ryu then Hayate then back at Ryu.

"What the hell is he doing here?!"

She collected herself and put her gun away. Irene suddenly noticed that her shirt was unbuttoned. Hayate didn't seem to care to look away. She quickly buttoned her shirt. Then gave Ryu a stare.

Hayate sighed and pushed himself off the wall to head out. "I'll let you two discuss, meanwhile, I'm off to work. See you later."

Once Hayate had left, she rose up and folded her arms across her chests giving Ryu a stern expression, "Explain."

Ryu scratch his head first, as his wife's stare was intimidating to him. "It's only for couple of days, he needed a place to stay…"

Irene sighed wearily while she gave it a consideration, and not that it mattered now since Hayate was already in their apartment. "I don't like this Ryu, I know he's your friend but where Hayate goes trouble follows."

Ryu held his silence as he looked at Irene with surrendering kind of look, somewhat a little afraid she would yell at him. It didn't matter if he was the strongest shinobi in the world, wife is scarier…

Though, whether she liked it or not Hayate was a dearest friend of Ryu, and because of that she couldn't sent him away.

"Fine, I guess I can survive couple of days."

Ryu kissed her lips. "Thank you, I will make sure he behaves."

"Doubt it." Irene rolled her eyes.

"Wait, did he say he was going to work?"

Ryu nodded. "He's on a mission."

"I see…in the middle of the night?" Irene frowned.

"Ninjas work best at night, depends on the mission." He replied casually.

"Right…"

"Are you coming?" Ryu shouted from their bedroom door, Irene hadn't realized he had made his way over there as she was lost inside her thought for a moment there.

"Yeah, I'll be right there…I just need to go get some important files from the car that I forgot." She said.

"Okay." Ryu went inside their bedroom and closed the door behind him.

Irene grabbed her gun and placed it back in a strap on her thigh, quickly ran towards the door putting her boots and raincoat back on, then gently closing the door behind her and ran out into the rainy street. She tried to figure which direction Hayate had gone to, looking left and right to see if she could catch a glimpse of him. She saw him and quickened her pace and melted into the New York crowd.

Hayate suddenly put his hoody on making it harder for her to see him now. So, she made sure that her eyes were on him at all time. The rain intensified making it even harder for her to see ahead, plus New York was a crowded place even during nighttime. A city that never sleep. Hayate turned around in suspicion kind of look and Irene quickly hid in the nearest corner. Seconds later, she peeked back out and Hayate had continued on walking.

She kept on shadowing him for a moment longer when Hayate suddenly walked around into emptier street corner. Irene hid herself behind a building nearby and peeked around the corner. She saw Hayate talking to two men. They asked him to turn around as they searched him for weapons. Seconds later, they approved and signed Hayate to follow them inside a building. Irene frowned strangely, as she wasn't familiar with this side of the city, so she wasn't sure what was going on. She didn't even know why she felt the urge to follow him. Ryu had taken a similar mission nearby many years ago and she wondered if this linked to the same mission somehow. As an agent, suspicion lies within her training and nature. She wished she could keep on digging further, but she had been away for too long, Ryu might start to wonder. Sighing at that, she turned back around and headed home.

 **The following morning…**

Irene sat up on her bed. She wasn't sure if it was the bad dream or the loud sound of thunder that woke her up. She gazed towards the window and it was still raining out. Then her eyes tracked to the digital alarm clocks on the table. It was ten minutes before it was supposed to go off, what was the point of setting an alarm if she was going to wake up before it sets off? Irene whined silently to herself in annoyance. She turned to Ryu's side of the bed and it was empty. She decided to get out of bed to get ready for work. First to the kitchen to start preparing her coffee. She wouldn't survive her early mornings without it. When she turned around the corner towards the kitchen, Irene smiled fondly like any wife would at the sight of her husband. He was shirtless, wearing only his sweatpants on. Screw coffee she thought, Ryu first. She led herself to him and sneak her arms around from behind.

"Good morning you." She greeted flirtatiously.

"I don't think Ryu would like this..."

Irene let go immediately, ran towards the light switch and turned it on. "Hayate!" Her eyes widened in embarrassment. "Oh god I didn't see you there, and why you didn't turn the lights on?"

"I can see much better than you in the dark."

"Okay, then…" Irene let out a tired small sigh. "Where is Ryu?"

"He went out for a morning run."

She then continued with her plan to make coffee while Hayate leaned on the opposite side of the kitchen counter slowly sipping from his tea, observing Irene. Her back was facing him. His eyes narrowed down to study her figure in her short pajamas dress. Irene turned and slanted him a look as she knew he was eyeing her from behind, it made her a little uneasy, so she tried to hurry so she could get out of there. To make her coffee, she would need a cup that was inside one of those kitchen cabinet but sighed since Hayate was blocking it. She hinted and waited for him to move away, but he didn't seem to take the hint, or he was ignoring it on purpose she wasn't sure.

"Could you move?" Her voice was strict since Hayate was getting on her nerve.

Hayate however took his time sipping on his tea. Then he moved to the side only slightly. He kept studying her. She took the cup out and poured her coffee.

"Why did you follow me last night?"

A little caught off guard by the question, she replied, "I don't know what you're talking about..."

Hayate put his cup down on the counter, grabbed Irene by her waists and forcefully turned her around. He made sure there was no space between them, as his body was tightly pressed against her and when she tried to slip away, he only backed her tighter against the kitchen counter. He was too strong for her.

"What the hell are you doing?" She asked confused.

He smiled. "Do I make you nervous, Irene?"

"Get off me Hayate!" She tried to push him away but failed.

He gave her a dead-on look. "I'm here on a very important mission," He began. "Stop meddling in ninja business. Have you forgotten that I'm a soulless criminal? Interfere in any way again, there will be consequences."

She stared him back, "Are you threatening me?"

"Just a friendly reminder."

"You don't intimidate me in the slightest, Hayate."

"Go ahead then, try me. You may have Ryu wrapped around your little finger but I'm nothing like him."

"Now that I believe, because unlike you, Ryu is not an asshole." She refused to let him get to her so easily.

"Ouch." He smiled teasingly.

The tension played between them like a high-voltage current. Irene suddenly became more aware of how close Hayate was. He was pressed so tightly against her body, she could smell the intoxicating scent of him this close to her. His gaze prowled over her like a hungry lion.

"I can't wait for you to leave…" She shook her head slightly.

"What are you so afraid of, Irene?"

"Oh, I'm not afraid, I just can't stand you."

Hayate smirked. "Like how you can't stand me a few years ago? We don't want Ryu to know about that incident now do we?"

He then sighed almost sarcastically. "Such a memorable night…" He whispered so closely with his lips almost brushes hers.

"Are you done?" She growled at him.

Suddenly, he released her. Irene didn't want coffee anymore, she rushed back to her bedroom and slammed the door behind her. For a minute he was tempted to follow, just to see how far it could go. But he knew the nasty outcome of that and so he managed to control himself from getting out of hand. Although he did enjoy the little moment just now. He shook his head to clear it and went to the sink to splash cold water on his face. Must be a bizarre case of jet lag, Hayate thought to himself in amusement.


	4. Chapter 4

**~Flashback~**

Kasumi sat on a large rock gazing down at the water in the river, thinking deeply. It had been a peaceful a couple of days since Hayate and her father declared her freedom. It hadn't quite sunk in yet that she was finally allowed back in the village. It sounded so simple to her all of sudden. Part of her wanted to go back so badly, to be with her family again just like the old days. She had missed them dearly, especially her mother. They were once a very tight happy family but a lot of things had changed since then. She had changed. They expected her to return to the Mugen Tenshin later that evening. Though she doubted that it would be a warm welcome from all the villagers. Just because she was no longer a rouge shinobi, did not mean that all the villagers have accepted her back. Maybe time would fix that once she had regained their trust. At least she wouldn't have to worry about where to sleep at night and where to hide next, but that she could return home and began repairing the relationship with her clan and family.

Kasumi then sighed deeply. Despite her longing to return back home, deep down she wasn't sure if going home was what she really wanted to do, as there was something else that had been clouding her mind. She must make a decision before the day ended. Though, it would have been an easier decision if it was only hers to make…

During her runaway days, Kasumi would travel to Tokyo and hide amongst the civilian but then they would track her way over there too. Therefore, she went back and forth between the city and the forest trying not to stay at one spot for too long. She loved it being amongst the people. The smell of the big city was so different and everyone just minded their own business all day long. Nobody cared who she was and what she did, she blended in perfectly. Kasumi found her temporary happiness there. When she would go back to the rainforest, life often would be very lonely, unless she was with _him._

Sighing nervously at her thoughts, Kasumi turned around to look at Ryu. They had camped out by the river nearby their villages in the last couple of days. This was their final day together, and not many words had been exchanged between them besides from small talk here and there. He too seemed as if a lot had been on his mind. He caught her stare from a far distance. Kasumi turned her gaze back at the small rocks under the clear water in the river, frowning.

 _How should I tell him?_

She gave it another long thought, but the more she thought about it the more anxious she became.

 _It's now or never…_

Taking a deep breath, Kasumi rose up to her feet and marched over to Ryu. He was sitting under a tree on the grass, busy sharpening his Dragon sword's blade. She sat down next to him and observe at what he was doing. He looked at her with a frown but he didn't say anything.

"Hayabusa…"

"Yeah."

"There's something…I need to…" She got too nervous and stopped herself.

His frowns became deeper.

"What is it Kasumi?"

Her heart suddenly sunk with nerves as she looked directly into his eyes. She gave it another try by asking him a warm up question to build up her courage. "Um, well… now that you don't have to look over me anymore, I'm guessing you're heading back to Hayabusa village?"

He took his time to answer. He shoved his sharp Dragon sword back into its sheath and put it beside him.

"I'm leaving Japan tomorrow."

"Oh, you got a new mission already?" She asked curiously.

Another long silence. Then he lightly shook his head. "I'm moving. I have already asked my father's permission for a temporary break from my duties."

Kasumi truly didn't expect this. It came as a surprise to her. "Where are you moving to?" Though she had an idea where but she asked anyway just so he could confirm her suspicion.

"New York." He replied.

She got up and stared down at him, "When did you decide this? What about…" And suddenly, it hit her. Her stomach tied itself in a painful clump of knot _. It didn't matter anymore, it was meaningless, all of it._ Shaking her head lightly to herself.

He got up, "A while ago but I wasn't going to move unless Hayate found a way to release you from your sentence."

Her mouth opened slightly, a little amazed of hearing him say that. "Well, you don't have to worry about that anymore now that I'm out of your way. This must be the best news you've ever received."

"I didn't mean it like that Kasumi…"

To that she made a disgusted kind of sound and then run back towards the river. Kasumi held her stomach tightly to try and breathe normally, as she was beyond furious at this point. "I'm such an idiot!" She growled as quiet as possible to herself. _It has always been her…_

Ryu followed right behind confused of why Kasumi reacted the way she did. But he had an idea why. He stood behind her not knowing what to say. Seeing Kasumi this angry made him angry because the last thing he wanted was to hurt her.

Her eyes suddenly swam with tears and she hurried to scrub them from her face, because tears would lead to sympathy and that was the last thing she wanted from him. He laid his hands on both her shoulders, he then turned her around so she could face him. He left a hand on her shoulder and ran the other across her wet cheek wiping the rest of the remaining tears.

 _Damn it,_ she didn't remove them all and she hated showing her weakness in front of him.

"Talk to me…" He spoke so softly.

With great effort she forced a faint smile and collected herself. "It's nothing, don't worry…it's just that, I'm going to miss you Hayabusa."

He didn't buy it, there was more he could feel it. He knew her too well and something else was bothering her greatly.

"Is this about Irene?"

Her eyes widen. "No…"

"Kasumi please listen to me…"

"You don't have to explain, I get it Hayabusa, I really do." She lied, she didn't get it. How could she have misunderstood? Ryu had never really confess if he ever had any feelings for her but she thought that it was because he wasn't the talkative type when it comes to emotion but rather show them. Those cold nights they spent together, keeping each other warm in each other's arms…and that particular night when she was afraid of the thunderstorm and he let her sleep with him in his futon in his home in Hayabusa village…didn't any of that mean anything? Was he just doing his job by protecting her from everything?

He wondered what Kasumi was thinking.

Silence filled the evening air. She wanted to get this over with already. He had clearly made his decision and she was about to make hers. He looked at her feet moving further away from him. She paused in a perfect distance. Her heart was pounding like crazy while she thought of what to say as her final words. Kasumi felt like a complete fool for thinking that there could be more between them.

"I guess this is it then…" Her lips shivered. She could see her pain mirrored on his emerald eyes.

"Thank you for everything that you've done for me, I'm forever grateful." She said and then quickly turned to leave. That was all she could think of saying. The shorter the goodbye the quicker she could get out of there. Even looking at him suddenly was very difficult. If she stayed there a minute longer, the hurt and confusion within her might get loose and god knows what terrible thing she would say to him then. She wouldn't want that, she wouldn't want their last words to be verbal blow argument and bitterness.

He grabbed her wrist, "Kasumi…"

"Goodbye Ryu." Her hand slipped away and Kasumi didn't look back. Tears flowed down her cheeks uncontrollably.

He stared her way until she vanished into thin air leaving bunch of Sakura blossoms petals behind. He stared at the falling floating petals in the air where she had just vanished. The unmoving stare accompanied with heavy breathing, like he was fighting something back and loosing. Part of him wanted to chase after her so badly. Somehow he knew it was hopeless. His teeth clenched as irritation slashed through him, it took Ryu another five seconds before irritation switched to fury rage. He grabbed one of the kunai knife out of the pouch on his thigh and threw it towards a tree on the other side of the river, then another, until he was empty of kunai. All six of his kunai knives hit at almost the same spot on the same tree. He wasn't the type to easily lose control of his emotions, but that day his emotions took over him.

He was angry because he couldn't return her feelings, he couldn't make her happy. Ryu had known about Kasumi's feelings for him for a while but he pretended as if he didn't know. He cared about Kasumi, he would have given his life to protect her, and he loved her except that he wasn't _in love_ with her…his heart already belonged to someone else. Still, Ryu blamed himself. It was his entire fault for leading her wrong. Those were the mistakes he couldn't undone.

 _I'm sorry Kasumi…about everything._

 **~End of flashback~**

Kasumi stood frozen in the kitchen staring at her son crying hysterically on the floor. Weekend used to be calm and peaceful for her. What happened? She asked herself. The morning started off with cheery "Good morning mama" followed with kisses and laughter. Tenzou even helped made his favorite chocolate cookies. Now she couldn't even get close to him. This was one of those time where she wished she would have her mother more in her life, to give her advice about parenting because right now she just didn't know what to do with her son. He didn't even give her a warning, he just burst out at her like a bomb with no fuse, threw himself on the floor, flipping back and forth violently, hitting and kicking her when she tried to get near him. The whole neighborhood could hear him scream as if she was beating him with a stick. All she said was, "no" to more cookies as he had eaten enough of them. Apparently it devastated him…this was new to her. He's had many tantrums before but never quite like this. She was always able to calm him down right afterwards.

His father would come and pick him up in thirty minutes and right now that felt like decades to Kasumi. She ran her hands down her weary face to collect herself. She gave it another try and bent towards her son that was still on the floor.

"Your papa will be here soon, come on let's get you ready…" She said softly.

It breaks her heart to see him this upset, as if the tantrum was more than just about a cookie. She reached her hands down to help lift him up but he slap and kick her hands away and flipped to his stomach giving her his back, then continued balling his eyes out. Kasumi took a deep breath as frustration took over her body and mind. That did it to her. She forcefully lifted Tenzou up and carried him to the living room and then lowered him down on the couch to start putting clothes on him before his father arrive. She wasn't about to lose to a three-year-old. Kasumi walked away ignoring his scream to get his clothes from his bedroom and pack his belongings since he will be away the entire weekend. She could hear him slowly calming down from the bedroom, now it was just soft sobbing and less screaming. Maybe he was finally tired from all the crying she thought.

Kasumi came back out to the living room and began clothing him. He was a little resistant but she managed to get his shirt and pants on.

"That wasn't so bad now was it?" She said with a smile, but Tenzou screamed something foreign to her. Now even her voice seemed to annoy him. Only the socks left then it will all be over. She took one of his foot to put the sock on, and when she tried to put on the other foot he took the sock right off and threw it on the floor. Then he would do the same with the other one repeatedly. Kasumi told him to stop but he began kicking and hitting her again, and then burst out crying. Kasumi didn't give up, she tried putting the socks back on.

"No mama!" He still refused.

"Don't do this to me now Tenzou…" Now she too wanted to cry. It had been such a long morning and her energy was drained. Her son was being more difficult than usual.

The doorbell rang.

 _Thank god…_ She ran to the door to open it. For once she was actually glad to see her ex-husband. He frowned at her, then peeked inside wondering what was going on since he could hear Tenzou crying and screaming his lungs out.

"What is going on?" He asked as he walked passed her to hurry to his upset son. Tenzou climbed down from the couch and ran to him.

Takeshi then gave Kasumi a questionable look while comforting their son. She didn't like the way he looked at her, as if she had hurt her son or something.

It didn't take much for him to get on her nerve. Kasumi was still angry about him abandoning Tenzou for a month and she still had a lot of unanswered question about that, but she bit her tongue because this was not a good timing for talking. She leaned her shoulders against the wall observing the scene in front of her. Everything was suddenly quiet and she could hear herself think again.

He was talking to Tenzou in a very calm voice and manner followed with a smile. He seemed to listen and nodded to whatever his father was saying, he even leaned in for a hug afterwards. Then Takeshi grabbed the socks from the floor and put it on Tenzou, no fight nothing...

A faint smile appeared on Kasumi's lips, she had to admit that it was impressive how he just handled that. The smile quickly faded because now she felt like a terrible mother…Takeshi then turned his head around frowning at his ex-wife. Their gazes locked briefly. He put Tenzou away for a moment and drew Kasumi aside.

"What happened?" He asked.

"A cookie…I just said no to a cookie and he freaked out on me. I tried everything but it didn't work, I didn't know what else to…" She explained in frustration but he cut her off by laughing at her.

"Oh, you think this is funny Takeshi?" She growled, as his laugh aggravated her.

"No, calm down…you denied a three-year-old his favorite cookie, what did you expect him to do? He will push your button until you give in."

Kasumi rolled her eyes, being lectured by him just irritated her even more. He noticed her annoyance in her demeanor, and her body language was closed off with her arms folded over her chest.

"But I don't think it was just about a cookie though, you should have seen him…it was as if he hated me and the second he saw you, he stopped."

"You're overthinking again Kasumi…"

Kasumi sighed wearily and thick silence suddenly filled the air between them, as if he could read her mind. She was blaming him. He wanted to explain to her about the situation the last time, but Hayate interrupted them. He placed himself closer to try and explain, even though there was no good explanation that would explain why he abandoned his son for a month but he wanted to explain anyway…

"When our divorced was finalized, I lost it…" He began.

She didn't look at him at first but his words got her attention. "There's no excuse."

"I know…and I still don't understand why we even got divorced. I never wanted it Kasumi, you did."

Kasumi shook her head while taking a deep breath, it made her a little mad hearing him say that.

"You know why, you know exactly why Takeshi!"

Suddenly, their attention turned to Tenzou who was standing not far from them, looking at his parents strangely. They didn't realize that he had marched over to them. So they put the conversation on hold again.

"I guess we better get going…we'll talk about this some other time?" He whispered. Kasumi only nodded.

Takeshi began grabbing Tenzou's belongings so they could make their way out of there. She followed them to the door. She had never been far apart from her son before, even though it was only a weekend, to her that was way too long.

"Be good." She said to Tenzou with a sad sigh. After a short hug and kisses with her son, they left the building.

Kasumi closed the door and took a deep breath. This huge curved of emptiness hit her chest and she missed her son already. She had talked to her ex-husband prior to weekend, discussing about their co-parenting strategy. She was however glad that they could come to an agreement on something for once. They had always been a good team when it comes to their son, just not as husband and wife. Due to that, she decided to give him a second chance because Tenzou needs his father in his life. The divorced took a toll on her too, if it wasn't for her son, she would have been a wreck.

Taking another deep breath, Kasumi decided to go lay down on the couch to relax a little. That was what she needed after a rough morning. As she laid on the comfy couch, staring at the ceiling, her mind quickly wandered off, and she thought about _him._

 _He must have been truly happy with her…_

The first thing that popped into her mind when she allowed herself to think about him. He wouldn't have stayed with her for this long otherwise. Rumored said that he even married her. Well, not really a rumor…Hayate told her a few years back when he got invited to their wedding in New York. Kasumi couldn't quite remember who else Ryu had invited from Japan, but according to Hayate, Ryu's father didn't come…were they having problems? She wondered strangely.

She then raised her hand to look at her wedding ring that she was still wearing a month after she and Takeshi got divorced. Kasumi noticed that he was still wearing his as well. Maybe deep down they hadn't quite let go yet. After Ryu, she didn't think that it was even possible to fall in love with anyone else. But she did. Her mind wandered off again to the days when she first moved to the big city.

As scary as it was for her to start over on her own, Kasumi was determined to make it. Luckily she had made a few good friends during her runaway days in the city and they let her stay with them until she could afford a place of her own.

Back then, she waited tables at the same restaurant that she is working as a chef today. Takeshi would often stop by and eat there. The first thing she remembered was how good looking he was, he had the kind of face that stopped you in your tracks and she remembered looking forward to waited for him. Kasumi did her best to stay nonchalant and smiled like she would to all customer. Of course the giant red blush that accompanied her smile was a dead give-away. He was tall, in good shape, dark hair, and his onyx eyes made her heart so weak. At first she thought that he was just a regular costumer that happened to love their food, but later on he confessed that he came there just so he could see her. He dared himself and asked her out but she turned him down a few times. As handsome as the man was, Kasumi was in a place where dating wasn't an option to her.

One evening, she randomly ran into him again in a park. They got to talking and the chemistry was undeniable. Even though their evening didn't start out as a date, they ended up going to dinner together. They talked for hours. Even with such good chemistry and how much Kasumi enjoyed his company, she was still not interested in dating. At the end of that night, he asked her why she was so determined to reject him. She told him everything, not the part that she was ninja, but the truth of why dating was a big no to her.

Any man would have run away after hearing her reason, but to her big surprise he was very understanding. They became close friends instead. It blew up in their face because before they knew it, they were madly in love. The first couple of years were the best years for Kasumi. They got married, Tenzou joined them not long after and they were the perfect family, something she thought she would never have. Takeshi was supportive of anything she does. Kasumi even went back to school one year after her son was born and good things kept on coming, she landed her dream job as a chef in one of the best restaurant in the city, and with her husband being a lawyer, they eventually bought their dream apartment together.

But life became busier for the pair, they started to spent less and less time together. Takeshi wanted to expand their family and wanted more children, Kasumi refused. She wanted to focus on raising Tenzou and continued on working. It would be years before she would even consider on having more children. One was enough. Then one thing led to another and eventually all they could do was disagree and argue. It became a sensitive subject in their household that led to tensions and frustration.

Meanwhile, her relation with her own family also suffered. Her parents wanted her to come back home, but Kasumi didn't feel like she belonged in Mugen Tenshin any longer. She just wanted a normal life and raise her son up away from the shinobi world. She kept close in touch with her brother Hayate, he would often come and visit them whenever he had the time off from his duties.

Suddenly, what Hayate said made Kasumi think. Maybe it was time to visit home and let Tenzou meet his grandparents. Lately, she was beginning to miss them a little more than usual, especially her mother. What was she so afraid of? She asked herself. Family used to be everything to her…

It hurt her head thinking this much. Laying there with nothing else to stare at than the walls. She couldn't just lay there and stare at the walls all day long. She needed to socialize more, and plus she hadn't trained in a while either, her ninjutsu skills must be so rusty by now.

That's it, thought Kasumi. It was still early and so she decided to go for a run. Not wasting any more time, she got out of the couch to go change.

Soon after Kasumi headed out of the apartment towards a lake park nearby. Her adrenalin was pumped and ready. Training used to be her daily routine, now maybe a couple times a month. After a little warm ups, she began running. The day was perfect and the air was warm followed with beams of sunlight glowing on her skin. A wide smile appeared on the corner of her lips when she ran by a playground where the children were playing and parents talking amongst each other.

 **An hour later…**

Kasumi made it back to the main street to start heading home again. But everything wobbled painfully and her heart pounded like crazy. As she gasped for air, she almost collapsed where she stood.

 _Oh god…I'm so out of shape it's embarrassing._

If her siblings only knew how out of shape she was, they'd be laughing at her. She suddenly remembered back to when she was fourteen years old, training with her siblings and Ryu. One time she took Ryu down during a sparring match, she ended up being on top of him. That was the first time she ever looked at Ryu's eyes up close and it made her heart stir awkwardly. What made it more awkward was that she got so lost in his unique green eyes that she forgot she was still sitting on top of him. He didn't move his muscles either, but locked eyes with her. When she come to think of it, they almost locked lips too. Her first kiss could have been with Ryu…until her silly siblings interrupted their moment. Hayate ran towards them screaming his lungs out at Ryu to get off his sister despite she was the one being on top of him. He had a hard time accepting his sister becoming a teenager, Hayate would freak out every time he saw her talking to any village boys with hairy legs. The memories made Kasumi laugh inside.

Why was she suddenly thinking too much of Ryu and her past that day…?

 _One of those days…_ Kasumi slightly rolling eyes.

Her phone made beeping sounds and she took it out of her pockets to look at it. It was a picture message. A wide smile stretched across her lips followed with a giggle looking at her son and Takeshi making funny faces in the picture.

 _I guess I have nothing to worry about._

She was glad that Tenzou was having a good time. He looked happy. Two more pictures were sent and she couldn't help but laugh this time.

 _Co-parenting wasn't so bad after all..._

Her hair fluttered in the air, she got lost looking at her phone that she hadn't realized the weather had suddenly changed. Dark clouds were slowly pushing in followed with strong wind. Maybe they were expecting rain later that day. Kasumi sighed and hurried home.

On the other side of the street, someone was running back and forth mumbling something foreign that sounded like cursing caught the corner of Kasumi's eyes. She crossed the street to help the girl. She seemed to be chasing around from what look like flyers that were blown away from her hands by the wind and trying to collect whatever she could collect. Kasumi managed to gather the rest and handed them back to the girl.

"Thank you so much, the wind came out of nowhere…" The girl said gratefully with a chuckle.

"You're welcome." Kasumi smiled.

Kasumi was about to turn and leave but the girl had suddenly frozen where she stood and stared directly at her with deep frowns.

Was there something on her face?

"Um, miss? Is everything alright?"

The girl snapped out of it. "Uh yeah… I didn't mean to stare, it's just that you remind me of someone."

"Oh okay." Kasumi replied slightly awkward or flattered, she wasn't sure.

"Anyway, thanks again and please take this, in case you consider on joining or know anyone that might join." Said the girl as she handed Kasumi one of the flyer.

"White Tiger Karate studio…" Kasumi read it out loud. "Are you the owner?"

She nodded. "Well, you can say that but my father is the main owner. He got another dojo he is running, so my friend and I will be running this one. We are trying to recruit as many as we could."

"How exciting, are there age limits? Do you teach for children as well?" Kasumi got a little interested.

"We have classes from morning to evening, all ages are welcome. Children classes starts on the evening time. There are also weekends courses." She replied by pointing on the time schedules on the flyers.

"Are you interested?"

"I wish I had the time, but I was thinking to put my little boy in some kind of activity."

"Ah I see, he is welcome to join and we made sure we have fun while learning as well."

"Alright I will check this out, and thanks for the info." Kasumi smiled.

As she was about to leave again, something else on the paper suddenly caught her curiosity. A name.

"Are you Hitomi?"

"Yes that's me, the other is my partner's name. You could contact either one of us if you have more questions about the recruitment." Hitomi smiled.

Kasumi didn't seem to hear her but to only stare at Hitomi strangely. Once Kasumi noticed Hitomi frowns at her stare, she explained herself.

"Sorry about that…it's just that you have a Japanese name but you don't look Japanese."

Hitomi giggled, "That's because I'm not from around here, I just moved from Germany a month ago. My mother was from this city and that's where I got the Japanese name, but I got my look from my father's side."

Kasumi's eyes grew wide, but she stopped herself from asking more question before she strike as being too nosey.

"I see, well I better get going. Good luck with the dojo Hitomi."

"Thank you."

Kasumi then continued making her way home but she turned around a few more times to look at Hitomi curiously, thinking.

Could she be the same Hitomi that Hayate stayed with in Germany during his memory loss? Kasumi had never seen Hitomi before but only heard about her through Ayane and Hayate. What was the odds of this Hitomi being the same one as her brother's old crush…? She kept on thinking.

 _She was from Germany, and her dad owns karate dojos…hmm too many coincidences._

This was interesting, really interesting thought Kasumi. If she does turn out to be the same person, then she couldn't wait for her brother to return back from New York.

 _How small is the world?_ Kasumi chuckled amusingly.

She looked at the flyer once again. Kasumi was considering to sign Tenzou into one of Hitomi's classes. Growing up with a fighting background, she thought that it was somewhat important that her son also learn some type of martial arts.

Minutes later, she arrived back at the apartment. She was surprised at the sight of someone sitting by her door twirling a kunai.

"Hi Ayane."

Ayane rose to her feet. "Here…" she handed Kasumi an envelope.

"Uh, what is this?"

"How should I know. My job is only to deliver it to you." She then walked passed her estrange sister to head home.

"Ayane wait…"

She stopped and turned back around, looking at Kasumi questionably.

"Do you want to come in?"

"No, I don't have time for that. Hayate is out of the country, he left me in charge." She coldly responded.

"Anything else?"

Kasumi sighed, at least she tried. She looked down at the flyer in her hand and then back at Ayane, she placed herself a little closer to her sister and handed her the flyer. Ayane took it and looked at it thoroughly.

"Hitomi…" She mumbled strangely.

"I ran into her just now but I don't know what she looks like. You've seen her right, could you describe her to me?"

"Blue eyes, brown hair, squeaky annoying voice. If this girl is her, you're not thinking on telling Hayate do you?"

"I thought he would want to know, she meant a lot to him after all."

Ayane rolled her eyes. "Can you do me a favor?"

Kasumi nodded curious.

"Don't."

"Why not?"

"Hayate got enough on his plate, he doesn't need all the distraction from that girl." Ayane then sighed, "I've wasted enough time already, I'm out of here."

"Why do you have to be so freaking rude to people all the time?" Kasumi suddenly blurted in annoyance at Ayane's cold demeanor.

"Not to all people, only selfish kinds like you. Later." Ayane vanished.

Kasumi was baffled where she stood. She could never figure what Ayane's problem with her was all these years…

Her gaze then locked on the envelope in her hand. It was sealed with the Mugen Tenshin owl's looking insignia. She opened it and it was a letter, she began reading immediately while walking inside her apartment with deep frowns and closed the door behind her.


	5. Chapter 5

Hayate stared out the window with his arms crossed over his chest. He had to admit, the view was breathtaking from Ryu's apartment. Though he wished that it was a sunrise instead of heavy rain and dark clouds. His fiery brown eyes tracked down to the street towards Irene's car that just drove out the building. He watched until he could no longer see the car. A faint smirk appeared on the corner of his lips thinking about their kitchen incident.

 _So weak… so vulnerable._

His thoughts were quickly interrupted when someone opened the door. Hayate turned to see soaked Ryu from head to toe. He disappeared to the bathroom to grab a towel to dry himself off, and then marched back out into the living room to where Hayate was standing.

"How was the run?"

"Refreshing…"

"So, what happened?" Ryu casually asked.

Hayate turned with a frown wrinkling on his forehead.

"What happened between you and Irene?" He repeated.

His frown deepened, still a little unsure of what Ryu was referring to.

"I ran into her just now and she was angry…"

"And what made you assume that it was because of me? Maybe you have a moody wife…" Hayate replied almost wanting to roll his eyes.

"Irene is never moody in the morning. I leaned to kiss her goodbye, but I got a car door slammed in my face instead. You said something didn't you?"

Hayate didn't respond and that was telling enough for Ryu. He shook his head in disappointment, then left to take a shower and to get ready for work at his antique shop. He briefly paused in his steps and turned back around.

"I know how you feel about her Hayate, but right now you're in my home. I won't tolerate any kind of disrespect towards my wife." His tone was so soft, but his words threatened dire consequences.

Hayate slightly turned sideways as the response, then turned his gaze back to the rainy skies.

 **Later that afternoon…**

Ryu came home for lunch like he usually would. The minute he opened the door, his nose was greeted by a familiar and delicious aroma. Curious, he followed the smell and wondering what was happening in his kitchen. It couldn't be Hayate cooking something that smell this delicious… from what he remembered, his friend was hopeless when it comes to cooking. He turned around the corner and there was Hayate stirring something in a pot.

"What are you doing?" Ryu asked, as Hayate seemed very focused.

"Making lunch for myself. You said I could feel at home and make anything I want if I get hungry right."

"It's fine, but what are you making?" Ryu leaned himself on the kitchen counter nearby observing. This was too good to be true.

"Miso soup, you can join me if you want, I made enough for two. But I had to step outside to find the supplies since you have nothing useful in that fridge."

"I would love some and I didn't know you can cook Hayate?" Ryu teased.

"I couldn't, but when I was living with Hitomi, I would help her in the kitchen a lot and she taught me how to cook. Her father was strict, I had chores…some days I was in charge on making dinner."

Ryu suddenly burst out into small laughter making Hayate glaring at him.

"I'm sorry, that was just funny."

"What was?" He didn't quite appreciate the laugh. It sounded as if Ryu was mocking him.

"You've never had to do chores in your life. You grew up with servants and it took a girl to motivate you."

"You saw right through me huh...well, Hitomi had a way of making me want to do things for her." Hayate remembered his specific past.

Ryu held a smug smile.

Hayate rolled his eyes, "I meant her personality. I loved spending time with her."

Did you and her ever?" Ryu gave Hayate a curious wondering look.

"No."

"Did you want to?"

Hayate then sighed, "I was attracted to her yes, it was hard not to because Hitomi was beautiful but I also respected her friendship and so I restrained myself from crossing that line. She saved my life you know."

Ryu smiled at that, then he went ahead and helped Hayate by taking out two empty bowls for the soup. Soon they took their seat by the table and began eating their lunch. Ryu was impressed since it tasted almost as good as Kasumi's miso soup.

"This is just like how Kasu…" He suddenly paused his words. "Never mind…"

Hayate had been meaning to ask him something personal but he wasn't sure if he should. Kasumi strictly told him to lay off any conversation about her to Ryu.

"She was the one who taught me how to make this." He simply answered reading Ryu's mind.

There was suddenly silence between them, and the vibe had suddenly changed into something more serious. There were subjects Ryu couldn't talk nor ask Hayate about, like the mission, his father and Kasumi. Because of that it caused a little tension in the air.

Hayate then broke the silence. "I need to ask you something…about my sister."

Ryu frowned curious. "Okay…"

Hayate proceeded. "When you were still Kasumi's guardian, did anything happen between the two of you?"

But Ryu wasn't sure what exactly Hayate wanted to know and why, "It must be important if you have to bring it up now after all these years."

But Hayate kept on frowning waiting for the right answer. Ryu then sighed, "I hit her one time during a search for you, she refused to listen, and I was afraid she would get herself killed by going after you since I promised to…"

"That's not what I meant, my sister can be beyond stubborn I know that."

"Then what are you asking me?"

It was awkward enough for Hayate to talk about his sister's private life, but he needed to know. It had been on his mind for a while and Kasumi refused to tell him anything.

"Did you ever cross that line with her…" He tried to make it slightly more clearly.

Immediately, Ryu grabbed the back of his neck, sighed deeply, rose up from his chair and took his half empty bowl and placed it into the sink. He wasn't so hungry anymore.

Hayate got slightly confused as what had caused his friend to get so upset.

"Thanks for lunch but I have to get back to work." Ryu started to make his way out of the kitchen.

Hayate rose from his chair and raised his voice as he didn't like being ignored when he was being serious, "Why won't you answer my question? What do you got to hide?"

That did it, Ryu turned back around and gave his friend a serious stare. "You have no right to question my loyalty and keep your nose out of my business Hayate."

"My sister is my business."

Hayate hit the unpleasant spot in Ryu's nerve system. "What are you up to? Are you looking for a fight with me, is that it? I'm happily married and thousands of miles away from your sister, I'm not interested in her if that's what you're concerned about? Why are you even bringing this up now?"

This was not Ryu he remembered. He sounded so angry, full of emotions…the friend he knew hardly ever show any kind of emotion as if the role had been switched between them. Hayate was a little caught off guard by Ryu's reaction, it was a little overreacting he thought. He was expecting a simple yes or no answer like how Ryu would mostly reply to anything. Kasumi also had the same reaction when he had approached her about the same question. It seemed like a sensitive subject for them.

Hayate then lowered his gaze to the table thinking carefully about his answer. "No…it's just that, if you are my neph…" he scratched his head in frustration, as he couldn't continue with what he wanted to say because he could also be wrong. He and Kasumi were in a good place and the closest they've ever been in years. He didn't want to anger his sister and lose her trust over this.

Ryu was trying to figure why Hayate was acting rather strangely and slurring on his words. He approached his friend a little softer, judging by his expression something was clearly bothering him.

"What is this really about?"

"It's nothing…and you're right, it's none of my business, can we just forget about this?"

Ryu shook his head and left without saying anything more, annoyed at the whole thing.

Hayate then took a deep breath, _why is he so intense?_ and then continued eating his lunch.

 **Later that night…**

When Irene got home, Hayate had already left on his mission again. Which made Irene glad because she didn't have to see him. She couldn't even make love to her own husband with Hayate around, as he made her that uncomfortable in her own home. She wanted to take the advantage of his absence and had her way with Ryu. After all these years, they still have that spark and their love had only grown stronger. She knew how to satisfy her husband. Her lips held a smug smile at the last thought. She heard the shower running in their bedroom.

Biting her lips seductively, Irene joined Ryu in the shower.

Ryu smiled at the sound of the shower door being opened, excited to see his naked wife joining him.

"Hi…" He said.

He looked so hot to her, he made her feel so weak even after all these years. Her heart began to pound away at the sight of his wet, strong figure, temptingly dripping water.

Ryu had no intention on being noble with her. He turned the shower into a perfect pace of flow and let the water pour on them. He then grabbed her waist and hugged her close and began kissing her neck then lips. A soft moan rose from Irene's throat. Her breathing became shallow when his hand trailed a little lower and found her breast. She closed her eyes at the sensation of his touch, her knees trembled at the feel of his raging erection rubbing against her bare soaked skin. Her grip tightened when Ryu's hand went passed her stomach and trailed even further below. Suddenly, he moved his lips closer to her ears, catching her earlobe between his teeth and then he whispered to her.

" _I'm so tempted to thrust into you right now…"_

Her stomach tied into a funny knot at his words.

" _Holding your hips while thrusting deep inside you, I want to find that wild spot of yours and hear you beg for more…"_

Her heart was beating so fast that she felt like it might come out of her chest the more words he spoke.

" _I bet you're wondering what it would feel like to have me inside you right now…am I right, Irene?"_

His voice was rough and full of arousal.

She shook her head," No…" she said out loud. _That's not my husband's voice..._

"Irene?"

 _Hayate stop it, this is wrong…_ shaking her head once again.

"Irene!"

Her eyes swung opened at Ryu calling her name and she looked around her like a crazy person. She just realized that she had moved away from Ryu and backed herself up against the corner of the shower wall. Ryu looked at her in a concerning manner, and he didn't dare to get closer since she was acting rather scared, as if he would hurt her or something.

"Ryu… I'm sorry, I didn't know what got into me."

He turned the shower off, confused out of his mind. Irene had never acted like this around him before. He looked back at her, "Are you alright?"

Irene placed herself closer to him and hugged him tightly. "I'm okay, I'm sorry…it's been such a long day for me."

"You're working way too hard Irene…" He didn't make more of a big deal about of it. His wife was clearly exhausted as he knew how demanding her job could be and what she had to face at times that could cause delusions and amongst other things.

"Let's just go to bed." He said softly, and she nodded against his shoulders.

A few hours later, Irene woke up at the rumbling sound of thunder nearby. She looked at the clock on her night table and it was only 2 am. _Give me a break…_ Then gazed at Ryu beside her, he was deep asleep. Irene sighed, thinking about the shower incident.

She decided to go get a glass of water and fix herself a little midnight snack. She didn't bother to turn on the lights since it was already so bright due to the city lights shone through the windows. Irene was about to head back to her bedroom when someone opened the front door making her stop from going any further, afraid to run into Hayate in the hallway. So, she waited for him to get inside his bedroom first. But then rolled her eyes in annoyance when Hayate decided to go to the kitchen first.

 _Just great…_ she cussed within her.

Hayate abruptly paused at the sight of Irene, sighed and then walked around her. He began opening all the cabinets, walked around the kitchen in search for something. Irene looked closely at him… blood was trailing down his arm that was dripping onto the floor. A deep frown wrinkled on her forehead, curious of what had happened to him.

"Are you looking for something?"

"First aid kit. Ryu said it was somewhere in here…" He winced in pain and grabbed his arm even tighter.

Irene walked away from the kitchen. Seconds later, she came back holding the kit in her hand.

"Here," She handed it to him.

He took it and sat himself down by the table in the kitchen, so he could begin to patch himself up. Irene knew that she should have gone straight back to bed and let him suffer. But she also knew that he would need help and as much as it irritated her to be around him, she still had a heart.

Irene observed him in silent first. Hayate struggled to clean the blood. His wound was bad. Irene quickly went over to him. She got a little worry.

"You're going to need help with that."

"Go away, Irene."

She crossed her arms refusing to leave and continued to watch him. His hand trembled and he struggled even more. She lowered into a chair next to him, took his arm and began cleaning the blood effectively. Hayate got annoyed at how she just took charge like that when he told her to go away.

"I said…"

"Just shut up, Hayate. Do you want this to get infected? I will make it quick."

He didn't argue any further and let her do it. He leaned his head back on the chair and took a deep breath, as it hurt like hell.

Irene then opened the medical kit to find the next item which was sterilizer liquid for the wound. But she suddenly got a better idea. She rose back up to go get something from the kitchen. Hayate frowned, wondering what she was up to now. Seconds later, Irene came back with a bottle of vodka in her hand.

"What are you doing?" But then clenched his teeth tightly and growled in pain, as Irene had poured the vodka without any warning on the open cut. It burned so badly that he wanted to cry. A faint smirk appeared on the corner of her lips. She had to admit that she enjoyed that.

"Stop being a baby. Ryu hardly reacted when I help him clean his wounds many times before."

"Good for him." Hayate replied in disgust.

She then handed him the vodka bottle. "Drink this."

"I don't drink."

"You're going to need it."

"I said I don't drink."

She rolled her eyes, "Suit yourself and this is going to sting a little."

Carefully, she started stitching the wound.

"So, what happened?" Irene asked.

"I let my guard down in the middle of a fight…"

"If you had asked either one of us to assist you on this mission…"

Hayate leaned forward and closer to her, "I seriously doubt that useless gun of yours would be much help."

Irene didn't even know why she bothered.

"You can't keep him here forever you know." He suddenly said.

Irene didn't respond but let out a light sigh instead.

"He doesn't belong here…" Hayate continued while trying to look for any sign of reaction from her. But she gave him nothing.

"You're making it sound as if I'm keeping Ryu hostage here. He is a grown man and he can make his own decision."

"Well, Ryu is not just some regular man with choices, we don't have that kind of luxury. Our paths were chosen on the day we were born. His clan will need a leader and they will need him around. They are struggling as it is. If you haven't noticed, I'm doing his job at the moment and I got my own clan to run."

Hayate really irritated her just now. She was just not in the mood to talk nor hear Hayate preach.

"What do you want me to say Hayate? like I said, he can make his own decision." She responded coldly.

"You're selfish, Irene. Unlike me, there is no one else that could replace him. Ryu has a responsibility to keep his clan surviving. You're fooling yourself if you think he would stay with you forever."

"All done." She said after she finished fixing his wounded arm.

Then Irene sighed warily as what he said was just hard to ignore, "You have been trying to break me and Ryu up since day one. If you want to see it happen so badly, then what are you waiting for? go ahead and tell him what we did. Isn't that what you want?"

Hayate chuckled, "You must think I'm stupid. I can't do that."

"So, you've been harassing me all this time for your fun and game?" She got slightly angry.

"Ryu is delusional but he is happy with you and that is the most irritating part for me. Plus, if he knew…I would lose him too."

They looked at each other hopelessly and silence filled the air between them.

"It was just a big mistake Hayate, it didn't mean anything..."

Hayate leaned close and he whispered into her ear. "Keep telling yourself that. You wanted it, otherwise it wouldn't have happened more than once."

"Thanks for the help." He walked passed her to his bedroom.

Irene was left standing with her heart ached painfully at the memories that came back freshly in her mind. _What was I thinking…?_ Then she marched to the living room and lowered herself onto the couch burying her face in her hands and were unable to contain her shameful tears that flowed down her soft cheeks.

 **The following morning…**

Ryu woke up to find his wife's side of the bed empty. He thought that Irene would have wanted to sleep in a little longer since it was her day off. He got out of bed and went to the kitchen first. A white note on the kitchen counter was the first thing that catches his eyes. He took and read it. It was from Hayate.

~ _I had to leave earlier, and I didn't want to wake you. Thank you for letting me stay in your home~_

Ryu ran a hand through his messy brown hair. A lot had been on his mind in the last couple of days. Perhaps, seeing Hayate again triggered many questions about what was going on back home in his village.

Ryu then walked to the living room and found his wife soundlessly asleep on the couch. It was cold, so he grabbed a blanket nearby and covered Irene with it. His movement woke her up, she looked at him confusingly and then peeked towards the window.

"It's morning already…" Irene yawned.

He looked closer and Irene looked like a mess. Her eyes were puffy, and her nose was red. He placed a hand to her forehead to feel her temperature, thinking that she might had catch a fever or a cold since her voice sounded a little rougher than usual.

"I'm not sick don't worry," She replied. "Just so darn tired."

"You're not quite yourself lately, I'm worried about you." He placed himself next to her and she let her head rested against his shoulder.

"Maybe I am catching a cold… I don't know."

"By the way, Hayate left earlier this morning."

Irene frowned. "Did you talk to him before he left?"

"No, but he left a note. He didn't want to wake us.

Irene sighed deeply. Their conversation suddenly replayed in her mind.

Then she found Ryu looking at her, as if he was studying her. The kind of look he would make if he tried to read expressions and body language, and she wondered what he was thinking.

"What?" She looked a little confused at him.

"Nothing," He sighed. "I'll go make you tea."

She followed. Something was bothering him, and it bothered her. "Is something wrong?"

Ryu didn't respond right away, "No." He turned to her with a smile, but it looked forced.

After a brief of silence Ryu had other things he needed to talk to her about.

"I have been thinking, and I think it is time for me to go back and visit my village."

Her heart raised to her throat. "Oh…"

She had dreaded to this moment when he would finally go back. It made her nervous because he might never return to her again. But she wanted to be supportive at the same time.

"What do you think about it?" He asked.

"Uh, I think it's great." Irene was getting emotional again. She had spent the whole night crying and worrying, and now this…

"I must speak to my father. I have tried to reach out to him, but he wouldn't respond."

"I understand and it's fine, you don't need my permission to visit your home country." She chuckled but inside she didn't like it.

"So, are you going to see her too?"

Ryu frowned, "Who?"

"Kasumi…" It came out a little blunt and she didn't even know why she was asking.

He didn't know why Irene had asked him that either. "I don't think she wants to see me, so no."

"I see…when are you planning on leaving?"

"Tomorrow, it's only for a few days."

Another surprise. Clearly, he had thought about this thoroughly as he seemed very determined of his decision. Now she felt silly for worrying. Hayate had gotten into her head so much that she had turned into this insecure person around her husband that had done nothing but being loyal and stayed true by her side through all these years. She should support him a little more, if this was what he needed to do then he should do it without feeling guilty. Irene walked over to him and gave him a soft warm passionate kiss. He smiled against her lips.

"I will miss you even if it's just for a few days but I'm glad that you decided to do this. You deserve to go back and see your family and friends. I've kept you to myself for too long, it's selfish of me."

"I'm not complaining." He whispered teasingly.

 **Mugen Tenshin Village, Japan**

 _What a weekend…_ Hayate finally arrived back in his village. He had to use teleportation technique to return and his energy was drained. He could hardly walk through the gate as he was so tired. He hadn't been sleeping for almost two days due to the mission and the burning sensation in his arm adding to his misery. He would have to change the old bandages when he gets to his house.

The ninjas that were guarding the gate bowed respectfully to their Master and opened the gate for him. Hayate bowed back and continued inside. Tomorrow would be a long day since he had an important meeting with the head of the Hayabusa clan regarding the information he brought back from New York. The villagers also greeted him on the way. Hayate passed by the Mugen Tenshin training field. He smiled at the sounds of his men training. He was impressed with what he was seeing since his men had been slacking. Ayane sure work them hard when he was not around. His little sister had grown to be a strict and good leader. Which was why he entrusted the clan to her during his absence.

His home almost came into view and oh how he had missed his soft futon. Yawning his eyes out at the thought. Hayate paused in his steps and rubbed his eyes a few times. _Am I seeing clearly…?_ He could have sworn that it was his nephew he just saw running around playing with the village kids. That couldn't be him. Kasumi would never have brought Tenzou to the village. He wasn't just tired but also delusional he thought.

"Uncle Hayate!" Someone ran to him in a high speed with big wide happy eyes. He was attacked with a bear hug.

He then put the kid down and looked at him closely. "Tenzou?" He simply nodded. Tenzou then ran around him in circles. Hayate laughed, as he wished he had his nephew's kind of energy right now.

"Where is your mother?"

"In that house." He pointed towards Hayate's parent's house. The kids were calling Tenzou back and he ran back to them, leaving Hayate confused out of his mind.

 _He's making friends rather quickly._

Hayate approached the house because this reunion wasn't something would want to miss out on and of course it had to happen while he was away. He took that a little personal. Now he wondered what had changed his sister's mind all sudden. Just when he was about to approach the door, someone opened it. Kasumi and their parents came out.

"Oh, Hayate." Kasumi was startled.

"You're back already son?" Wondered his mother Ayame.

"Yes, I came home a little earlier than planned since I finished the mission earlier."

"What did I miss?" Hayate then asked curiously.

"Kasumi decided to visit us." His father Shiden replied.

"Too bad that you weren't here Hayate, as I'm just about to leave."

Hayate was getting lightheaded, this was too much for him to comprehend all at once. He'd never thought that Kasumi would ever return to the village.

"Tenzou!" Kasumi called after.

He came running to her. "Yes mama."

"Say goodbye to your grandmother and father, we are leaving."

"No, I want to stay here and play more." He shook his head determinedly.

Kasumi sighed, as her son used to be so obedient. Now he is rebelling on everything she said. "We can come visit again soon, we have to go before it gets dark."

Ayame bent down to his level, "You can come visit us anytime you want, okay?" She said so softly and he nodded. She opened her arms and leaned in for a hug to which Tenzou responded by hugging her back. Then a long hug to his grandfather as well. Kasumi also hugged her mother tightly, she didn't want to let go as it had been too long, but she had to. After a short goodbye, they started making their way out of the village. Hayate walked his sister to the gate.

"How's New York?"

"Fine. I'm glad to be home because I can't stand another day in that city. I don't know how Ryu put up with living there."

"Did you get to see him?" Kasumi asked.

"I stayed with him and Irene while I was there.

"Oh, I see…"

"But the real question is, why are you here?"

"Mother sent me a letter, and they wanted to see me and meet their grandson. I thought about it and it was time. You were right Hayate, I should have done this a long time ago. Tenzou deserves to meet them much sooner."

"You're here now, that's what matter. I'm proud of you." He smiled.

Kasumi noticed Ayane on the training ground. Ayane gazed towards them, Kasumi smiled to her, but she quickly turned her gaze away ignoring her.

Kasumi sighed…

Hayate noticed the tension between them and he felt a little hopeless about it since Ayane was determined to keep her distance from Kasumi.

They reached the gate. Hayate hugged Kasumi and his nephew goodbye. Tenzou waved back to his uncle repeatedly while heading out the gate. Then he waved the guards goodbye as well and they waved back to him. Kasumi giggled at her son. He seemed to have managed to charm everyone and even made friends in one day.

Only a few minutes out the gate, someone strangely familiar came into view walking towards them. That was the main road to the Mugen Tenshin. Kasumi assumed he was heading to the village. She played casual as she hadn't seen the man in years. When they crossed path, both stopped and greeted each other.

"Kasumi…" He said a little surprised.

"Master Joe." Kasumi smiled.

"Did you just come from the village?" He asked.

"Yes, we are on our back to Tokyo."

"I see."

"And you are heading to the village?" Kasumi asked.

"Yes, I have business with your father." Then his eyes locked to the little boy next to her.

"And who might this be?" He wondered with a smile.

"This is my son, Tenzou."

Joe Hayabusa reached out his hand to shake, but Tenzou hid himself behind his mother instead.

"He is a little shy…" Kasumi replied with a chuckle.

Joe Hayabusa didn't seem to hear her. He kept looking at Tenzou with a deep frown. Kasumi didn't know what to think, as he looked somewhat serious at her son and it made her nervous.

"The resemblance…" He mumbled weakly to himself.

"What was that?" Kasumi didn't quite hear him.

"It's nothing. I better keep going and nice to see you again, Kasumi."

"Likewise," Kasumi bowed respectfully and continued walking.

She quickly turned back around to look at Ryu's father one more time, and he was still standing still looking her way with a frown. Kasumi then took a deep breath and didn't look back. She gazed down at Tenzou who was stumbling while walking, he couldn't keep up the pace and he was yawning. The weather was chillier up in the mountain. Kasumi paused to take Tenzou's jacket out of the backpack and put it on him. He struggled to keep his eyes open. She then lifted him up to carry him. He rested his head on her shoulder and quickly fell asleep. Kasumi smiled as he had been such a good boy all day. It seemed like he had a lot of fun too. It was a good day for them.

A lot of things had also changed with her family. Her parents didn't even question her motive nor reason for not wanting to come back to the village. They just wanted to spent time with them. Ayane's word replayed in her mind, _selfish…_ Kasumi was disappointed in herself, but it wasn't too late to turn things around and to have that close relationship with her family again. She needed to start thinking differently and let the past be the past.


	6. Chapter 6

The doorbell rang.

Kasumi took out the hot cupcake buns out of the oven. She wore a satisfactory smile as they looked perfect. There was nothing like the smell of freshly baked cupcakes. The best part was to get creative and decorating them. The doorbell rang again. Kasumi hurried towards the door wondering who it could be. She opened the door and peeked out.

"Another surprise visit? Or you just stop letting me know that you're coming..."

"I was nearby." Hayate smiled.

Kasumi let him in and he went directly to the kitchen due to the delicious baking smell. She figured, as Hayate love to eat.

He opened the fridge and looked inside. "Do you have anything for adults in here?" He asked with his back facing her since most of the stuff in there belong to Tenzou.

"I haven't gone to the market yet."

Hayate took out a mini box of chocolate milk with baby straw and sipped it. Then he grabbed one of the finished cupcake and sat down on a chair observing Kasumi preparing a new set of cupcakes.

"What happened to your arm?" She asked noticing him wincing when he briefly adjusted his arm.

"I got into a fight in New York."

"Not with Ryu I hope?" She looked at him a little concern.

"During my mission. I kind of had a fight with Ryu too…or he tried to get into it with me over nothing really."

"That doesn't sound like Ryu… you must have provoked him somehow." She replied casually.

"Maybe…" Hayate sipped more chocolate milk. If only Kasumi knew it was because of her, she would probably end him right there as she too could be easily provoked nowadays, Hayate thought to himself.

"He seemed different." He continued. "As if something was eating him up, or maybe I just don't know him the way I used too. Was he always a short tempered emotional guy around you?"

"Rarely, but he had his moments. I think Ryu only shows his sensitive side around people that are close to him. He got on my nerve a lot back then because he was too overprotective at times and I didn't like being treated like a child by him."

Hayate chuckled, "Because you were acting like one and got me into a lot of trouble." He said lowly in a mumbling sound, but loud enough for Kasumi to hear him. Hayate caught her intimidating stare and he quickly looked away to avoid further eyes contact. If eyes could kill…he thought.

"Tell me stories, you never talk about your past." He took a chance since Kasumi seemed in a babbly mood. She usually kept her past strictly to herself.

"It's not something I like to talk about…but this one time, Ryu and I got into a quite nasty fight." She began.

Hayate remembered this, Ryu had mentioned about him hitting his sister and it must be the same story she was about to tell, but he didn't interrupt and let Kasumi tell herself.

"Such a humiliating moment…" She rolled her eyes, "and in front of that American woman ugh…" She was suddenly mumbling to herself in annoyance making it hard for Hayate to hear her. Still he didn't interrupt.

"Anyway, he said something to me during the argument and I completely lost it."

Hayate frowned, "What did he say?"

"He said that I was a loose cannon and that I lacked discipline as a shinobi…can you believe that? The nerve of that guy, who did he think he was?" Anger rose in her voice, as the memories replayed freshly in her mind.

Hayate raised a brow and looked strangely at his sister. Kasumi however didn't like the look on his face.

"Oh great, you actually agreeing with him don't you?"

"I didn't say anything..."

"It's written all over your face!"

"Kasumi why are you attacking me?"

"Never mind, it just makes me mad thinking about it." She shook her head and thought, it was so long ago and what does it matter? There was no need to get worked up over a silly memory. Kasumi then let out a sigh and calmed down a little before she continued. "Well my point is, even though our way of living is strictly forbidden from showing emotions, I don't think that we are capable of completely killing those emotions. Shinobis are still human beings at the end of the day right?"

Hayate listen to her words with deep frowns. He found it a little strange that Kasumi allowed herself to talk about Ryu so casually. Before, he couldn't even mention his name without irritating her. It looked like his sister had done some serious thinking while he was away. He was glad that she started to open up to him a little bit more, even if she didn't go too detailed on what exactly had happened during her runaway days.

"Give him a break. You know Ryu is a good guy and he must have been afraid to lose you. You may not agree with his methods but If anything, Ryu was all about tough love." Hayate reasoned. "After all, he did go to a great length to protect you didn't he…? And somehow I don't believe he did it because I asked him to. I think it was because he truly cared about you."

Kasumi looked at Hayate but she didn't say anything more. She wasn't even sure if she wanted to keep talking about her past or Ryu. It stirred the old emotions within that made her uncomfortable and sad.

Hayate then looked around with wondering eyes. "Where's Tenzou?"

"He is at his first karate class. Did I forget to tell you?"

"Karate huh. Why didn't you ask me to train him instead? Those lessons are expensive." Hayate replied with his mouth full of cupcake.

"Yeah like you have the time…" Kasumi's eyes shifted to the clock on the wall. "It's time to pick him up, you'll stay for a bit longer right? It's just across the street and I'll be right back."

Hayate nodded as he grabbed another cupcake. Kasumi took her apron off and began making her way out. A lightbulb appeared on top of her head making her paused in her steps and headed back to the kitchen.

"Um, Hayate?"

"Yeah."

"Why…don't you go pick up Tenzou instead?"

"Why?"

"Because…I'm busy baking at the moment."

Hayate frowned a little, "Is baking more important than your child?"

"Oh wow, sorry if it was too much to ask." Rolled her eyes and turned away.

Hayate immediately got up from his chair. "Fine, I'll do it…"

After Kasumi had explained him where the new karate dojo was, Hayate left. She couldn't help but giggled and continued to decorate the cupcakes meanwhile. Thirty minutes later, Hayate came back with excited Tenzou next to him. Hayate however looked like as if he had seen a ghost, a little in shock. Kasumi gave Tenzou a quick hug and asked him what he had learned from his class. Tenzou tried to tell her but Hayate was suddenly talking over him.

"Kasumi, I need to tell you something." He said repeatedly while Tenzou spoke over him as well. It made Kasumi dizzy as she didn't know who to listen to first.

"Go on, show me what you've learned." She smiled to her son.

"Kasumi…" Hayate interrupted again.

"Hayate, my child is trying to show me something here, can't it wait?" Although she knew what he wanted to say but let him be tortured for a bit longer.

"Mama, look!" Tenzou prepared his fist firmly and aimed at his uncle's stomach with all force.

Hayate was startled. Kasumi's eyes grew a little wide and drew Tenzou away from Hayate.

"That was very good! But you do not hit people understood?"

Tenzou nodded with a proud smile across his lips. Kasumi then told him that he could have one cupcake and he ran to the kitchen.

Hayate leaned himself on the wall holding his stomach. Kasumi slightly rolled her eyes.

"Really? You can't handle a little punch from a three-year-old…?"

"Your kid is actually quite strong…" He replied.

"Of course he is, just like his father."

Hayate frowned at her. "I didn't know Takeshi knew how to fight."

Kasumi only gave him a faint smile and turned away. He hated it when she does that, as If she was playing dumb or something. He sighed and let it go, nothing good would come out of him approaching the subject again. A wide smile suddenly stretched widely from the corner of his lips.

"Guess who I just met?!" He said loudly as he followed Kasumi back to the kitchen.

Kasumi held in a giggle and shrugged. "Oh I don't know…who could it be Hayate?"

"Why are you wearing that stupid look on your face again?"

"Excuse me?" Kasumi raised a brow.

"You already knew don't you? Isn't that why you wanted me to go pick up Tenzou instead?"

Kasumi let out a soft laugh. "Aren't you glad that you did though?"

Hayate smiled to that. "I can't believe Hitomi is just around the corner. My heart is beating so fast right now…and she is so beautiful." Hayate fell slowly to the chair and let out a dreamy sigh. He was acting like an excited little kid who just got candy. He had missed her after all. Kasumi found it funny as she hadn't seen this side of her brother before. He was often too serious in the way he carries himself. When he talks he would talk in a strict and entitled manner. Perhaps Hitomi had a way of making her brother all softy and weak. How amusing she thought.

"And I like Ms. Hitomi too. She is a very nice lady." Tenzou casually jumped into the conversation and took a big bite of his cupcake. Making Kasumi and Hayate laughed at him.

"What did she say when she saw you again?"

"Not much, she was surprised and so was I…it was rather awkward. Plus, she was working so she didn't have time to talk but I'll definitely would like to see her again." He smirked.

Hours passed. After they had dinner, Kasumi tucked Tenzou into bed and spent the rest of the evening hanging out with Hayate. She hardly got to spend time with him after he got promoted to the leader rank, and so it was nice that he stopped by. But she wished that she could be just as close with her little sister Ayane too. Silence surrounded the kitchen walls. Hayate and Kasumi were suddenly lost deep inside their own thoughts as they sat by the kitchen table facing each other. Their gazes were faced down, staring at their teacups. Kasumi breathe out a deep sigh.

"Have you ever felt so guilty about something that even when you try to do the right thing, it still makes you feel like a horrible person?" Kasumi wondered out of the blue.

Hayate kept on staring down. He gave her question a thought before responding.

"No."

The way he responded made her curious.

"So you haven't done anything that you wished you haven't?"

"Nope."

Kasumi leaned back on her chair folding her arms across her chest. "Well that's unlikely, you must be truly cold and heartless not to be able to feel guilt."

"I'm not like you Kasumi."

She wasn't sure how to take that. Was he being rude or complimentary. She only frowned at him strangely and Hayate noticed her frown.

"A few years ago I did something. Something hurtful to a friend. I should feel guilty and remorseful, but I just don't."

Her frown deepened, not quite getting the story but she got the point he tried to make.

"and a few days ago, I wanted to do it again…" He continued.

"Wait, two days ago you were in New York…are you talking about Ryu?"

He shook his head. Kasumi was now a little confuse. Before she would start to dig deeper, Hayate quickly turned the conversation on her since she was the one who brought the subject up.

"Is there something you're feeling guilty about?"

Kasumi nodded and sighed. "A few things…It didn't bother me much before but lately I couldn't help but feel that everything is my fault. I wish I could tell you, but I'm not ready to talk about it yet."

Hayate didn't push her even though it made him curious. Then their gazes shifted back to their tea, thinking silently. Something caught his eyes.

"Why are you still wearing that thing?" He bluntly asked, looking at the wedding ring on her finger.

"Like I said I'm not ready to talk about it…"

Hayate then rose up from his chair. "I better head back, I have important meeting tomorrow morning…"

Before she could reply to that, her phone rang and she picked it up. Hayate listened to Kasumi's conversation. It sounded as if a friend was asking her out for a fun night. But Kasumi rejected the invitation. Once she finished talking, she followed Hayate to the door.

"Why did you turn your friend down?"

"I had no choice, I can't leave Tenzou by himself…"

"When the last time you did anything for yourself Kasumi?"

"Well it's not about me anymore Hayate. Plus, I'm a single mom now and I just don't have time for other stuff, which is fine really." She smiled.

"Call you friend and tell her that you changed your mind. I'll babysit for you next weekend. Good night." Hayate disappeared.

She didn't even get a chance to react as he didn't give her much choice. She shook her head and closed the door.

 **Earlier that same day…**

Ryu paused in a good distance, reluctant to take another step. He felt strange inside as he stood gazing towards the entrance of Hayabusa village. A place he once called home. Mix emotions sliced through him. Guilt, longing, awkwardness, anxious and happiness all at once. He was happy to be home but he felt guilty for not visiting much sooner. He felt anxious because now he wondered how everyone would react when they see him again. How could they possibly understand why he did what he did? Would they hold grudge over him for leaving? Adding to all his confusion, now he was also getting nervous. What if his father didn't want anything to do with him? His return might even provoke his old man and what if he got exile by the end of this? Maybe his father had already exiled him without his knowledge since he wasn't interested to keep in touch with his own son.

 _Now you're overthinking…_ He told himself.

He walked closer to the gate. The guards at the entrance looked at the super ninja with wide-eyed. Ryu looked back at them, waiting for them to open the gate for him. They quickly did and bowed. Ryu then made his way inside. As he marched along the dirt road towards his father's home, he took a brief look around. The air was fresher there than the city. The village was located in deep forest of Japan, surrounded by green mountains. No technology, just nature.

Many memories flashes through his mind. There was a particular someone he thought about. He looked to his right. Inside, Ryu was dueling whether he should just go straight to his father or turn right. His heart felt heavier the longer he stood there. He couldn't just walk away but at the same time, he felt underserving to visit her. The wind flew by swiping the leaves on the ground, her laughter echoed through the wind, and the sweet memories of them as children chasing each other around at the same spot he was standing. He failed to protect her. Her life was taken right in front of his eyes. Until this day, he still blamed himself for her death. Ryu looked to his right once again.

He walked over to her tombstone and lowered himself into a kneeling position to look closely at it. Her name was printed beautifully on the stone. _Kureha._ There were white lilies that were recently placed on each side of the tombstone. He figured that someone had been visiting her grave. He too would often visit her in the past. Every morning and every time before leaving for a mission. It became part of his daily ritual to pay his respect for the girl he once loved.

Ryu suddenly remembered the conversation he had with Irene a while ago, about Kasumi. Irene didn't quite understand why he would risk so much for Kasumi. Why he would lie and hide her from her clan that he was supposed to be ally to, and by holding information of her whereabouts was consider treasonous, even going as far as killing the Mugen Tenshin's assassins that were sent to kill her himself. He explained to her that he did it for his best friend Hayate. He remembered the way Irene looked at him when he told her that, as if he had said something stupid. Her response was, "So you would risk the safety of your own clan by going against the rules just to do Hayate's dirty work? Wow, Hayate must be such a special friend..." Even though he understood where Irene was coming from, he just couldn't really explain to her why without sounding stupid at the time.

For a long time after Kureha's death, Ryu had closed his heart to love because he was afraid to lose anyone he cared about die in front of his eyes again. Now he understood why he went on a great length to protect Kasumi. He felt responsible to keep her safe. He had a ship on his shoulder.

The sounds of footstep approaching the grave startled him and he quickly turned around. Someone in a white and red kimono stood behind him looking at him as if she was seeing a ghost. In her hands she held fresh white lilies.

"Master Ryu, is that really you?" She was pleasantly surprised.

Ryu rose back up and looked at her.

"Momiji…"

"When did you come back? We never got any news of your return…" She thought strangely.

"That's because I didn't inform anyone about my arrival, and there's a reason for that."

"Oh I see…" Momiji replied. She then walked around him and to her older sister tombstone to replace the flowers with the new ones she brought. Ryu observed in silent.

"So, why have you come back?" She asked with her back turned.

"I wanted to speak to my father."

She turned to him. "I'm heading in the same direction, if you don't mind walking with me?"

He smiled to that and they began making their way out of the graveyard. As they were walking side by side, Ryu couldn't help but look at her now and then. Momiji was once his student and his partner in crime. She assisted him on countless missions. _Good old days…_

He looked around the village. It looked a lot greener than what he remembered, but not much has changed otherwise. It was quiet, no sight of other villagers so far. Perhaps because it was still early in the morning. He wasn't quite prepared to meet them all yet and so that was a good thing.

"How have you been?" He asked.

"I've been good." Momiji smiled, the smile faded and she looked at him with wondering eyes. "How long are you staying in the village?"

"Until tomorrow. I wish I could stay longer, but…"

"You must be in a hurry." She interrupts teasingly, but her tone hinted disappointment. "Well, make sure Sanji doesn't see you. If he sees you then you know he wouldn't let you leave this village again." She chuckled.

Even though Momiji was teasing, his chest felt heavy listening to her words. He just realized how much he had missed them.

Momiji stopped in her tracks. "It is a shame that you couldn't stay longer. But I better head back home before my daughter wakes up." She explained before parting ways.

His eyes grew a little wide. "Daughter…"

Momiji nodded. "Newborn, so I can't be too far away from her."

Ryu smiled, "Congratulations."

Brief silence filled the air between them. Ryu looked at her with guilt in his eyes. Clearly, he had missed out on a lot and he hadn't been there for her.

"Momiji, listen…"

"You don't owe me any explanation Master Ryu. I just want you to be happy." She quickly replied reading his mind, then bowed with a smile and left. He looked her way until she disappeared from his sight.

Soon after, Ryu arrived at his father's house. He knocked a few times but no answer. The door was unlocked and he let himself inside. Suddenly his feet hesitated to walk any further in and froze in his steps. This wasn't a good idea after all he thought...getting more and more nervous all of sudden.

"Are you hungry?"

The voice snapped him out of it and he looked around. The voice came from the kitchen. It was too late to turn around now, so he walked over to the kitchen. He didn't enter right away but paused at the doorway instead. His father's back was facing him and he was eating breakfast. Joe Hayabusa got up from his chair to get an extra plate and placed it on the opposite side of the table from him.

"Take a sit before the food gets cold."

Ryu did as he was told and took his seat. Joe continued eating his breakfast without making any eyes contact with his son.

"How did you know it was me?"

No respond. Joe sipped from his tea and casually continued eating. Was his father playing a game with him…Ryu wondered. Fine, he will play along. He didn't say anything more and began eating as well. For a good couple of minutes, the only sound surrounded the table was the sound of them chewing their food and sipping from the tea. Two minutes that felt like decades for the Dragon ninja. Finally, Joe Hayabusa looked at his son, he didn't remove his eyes making Ryu anxious.

"Did you finally have enough of your break?" Joe bluntly asked.

Was his father playing dumb with him? Ryu wondered strangely. He only frown as the response and he didn't quite know how to answer to that. He went straight to the chase instead, as he didn't see any point for small talk.

"When I asked for your permission to take a break, I wasn't expecting you to disown me." Ryu replied.

"What made you think that?"

"You did it on purpose didn't you? Sending Hayate to do my job, making some kind of mockery of my absence."

Joe Hayabusa's frown deepened. "You must be confused son. I told Hayate not to include anyone or let anyone know about the mission. He went to you out of his own interest. You made it clear that you wanted a break from your duties, I only did what you wanted. Hayate was the next best choice to carry out this particular mission and he did a good job."

Ryu sighed in annoyance. "I have tried to get in contact with you, multiple times, I was ready to go back to my duties. It did not matter where I live, I would still have fulfilled my duties but you never let me back in. If you had problems with me leaving, then you should have just told me from the beginning."

"Is that so. Then you haven't tried hard enough. There is no technology in this village."

Confusion clouded Ryu's face. "I had asked Hayate to deliver news to you, and I never heard back..."

Joe Hayabusa stared at his son for a good time. "Why have you returned? It cannot be that you have traveled this far back because you were offended?"

Ryu didn't respond, he didn't know anything anymore. Joe Hayabusa continued anyway.

"You were born into this great responsibility. When your mother was still alive, we planned on giving you siblings so you wouldn't feel too alone in the matter. Also, in case anything would to happen to me or you, that there would someone else to carry on for our clan."

"So, this isn't about me marrying Irene?" His voice softened. He was ready to defend his marriage when he first walked into the kitchen.

"There's a little bit about that too." Joe sighed, "Does she fully realize the outcome? Despite your freedom to marry someone from outside of this clan. There are still demands that strictly follows with any choice you make and I think you know what I am trying to say. It is selfish to expect that much from others that are not like us but it is what have to happen to keep our clan going."

Ryu knew exactly what he was trying to say. Irene had never really expressed much whether or not she was okay with what demanded of him. Irene loved him, and why would she be with him for this long knowing fully of his strict tradition and background if she wasn't okay with it, thought Ryu. But so far, any conversation that had to do with his clan, they seem to avoid talking. The only reason they were still going strong was because he gave up all his responsibilities and chose her. But what happen when he would go back to become a shinobi he once was again? Could they find some middle ground to where they both wouldn't have to give up completely of who they are to make their marriage work? He didn't want to come to a point where he would have to choose…that would have devastated him. Many things suddenly ran through his mind causing him more confusion.

Joe stared at his son, wondering what was on his mind since Ryu looked deadly serious at his plate.

"I need…to think…thank you for the breakfast father." Ryu got up to leave.

"You are leaving already?"

"I'm sorry but I must."

Joe didn't encourage him to stay. He had promised his beloved wife that he wouldn't pressure Ryu to do anything he didn't want to do. He had raised Ryu to be smart enough to come to his own senses. Joe thought at the beginning that Ryu just needed to go through a phase. But now he wasn't sure if that was the case anymore...perhaps he too needed to do some thinking and stop ignoring their situation.

He followed Ryu to the door, and as they walked through the hallway, something caught Ryu's eyes. He marched over to the spot. Joe only observed from behind.

"May I?" He turned to his father. Joe nodded.

He lifted the Dragon Sword and looked thoroughly at it. Then drew the blade out of its sheath and studied it further. He had gone through a lot with this sword. A life saver many times during dangerous battles. It felt strange as he holds it, he felt pride and empowerment.

"When you are ready, you may claim its power again."

Ryu looked sideways and then looked back at the sword. He shoved the blade back into its sheath and placed it back on its place. He took a final look at it and turned away.

He quickly bowed to his father and left. Joe stared his son leaving until he could no longer see him and closed the door.

Overwhelming emotions rushed through him. Ryu walked through the village in a hurry. He wasn't as ready for this as he thought he would. Self-consciously, Ryu began asking himself. All this time, was he running away and avoiding his responsibilities? He had felt so comfortable living as a regular civilian that he abandoned his clan without realizing that he did. It was true, it did start out as a break, but things changed along the way. Now everything felt like an escape. Irene became his life and focus, and there wasn't anything he wouldn't give up nor do for her. His world without Irene would be much colder. Suddenly, he felt so conflicted about everything.

He slowed down his pace when he passed by a house. _His_ house…Ryu walked to the little porch and looked down at the dirty wooden floor. His house had definitely seen better days. He briefly peeked through the window, he didn't need to go inside to see how dusty it had gotten. He sighed that followed with sadness. He decided to leave and far away from the village. Before he disappeared, he caught Momiji from a far distance. They briefly locked eyes, then Ryu disappeared into thin air. He didn't know where he was headed, just to a place where he could be alone.

 **The next day…**

Ryu hadn't left the mountain side yet, as he loved being with the nature. He had been wandering around since yesterday. It had been a while since it was so quiet around him. New York was a noisy city from morning to night. He had gotten used to the noise after many years but still deep down, he was never a big city type of guy. Now he wondered if he should stay a little longer or headed straight back to New York. The point was just to make a quick stop and talked with his father, he hadn't informed anyone else of his return, not even to Hayate. He had been thinking all night long that he was beginning to get a headache. Two hours of sleep was all he got since he had been there.

He stopped walking, as there were now two paths that lead to different directions. One path that would lead out the mountain and the other was towards the Mugen Tenshin village. He gave it a quick thought if it was a good idea or not. Since he was so close, he couldn't resist. A quick visit wouldn't harm as he didn't know when he would return again.

Minutes later, the Mugen Tenshin entrance came into his view. As usual the gate was strictly guarded and they might or might not let him in without their leader's permission.

"Stop right there." Commanded a shinobi guard.

When they got closely, their eyes widened. "Hayabusa sama." They greeted in unison and bowed respectfully.

This was rather strange to Ryu, because they were treating him as one of their superior. He didn't expect that after many years. Little did Ryu know that even though he had been away for a while, his reputation for being one of the most skilled and fearsome shinobi was still intact.

"Are you here to see Master Hayate?" A guard asked.

Ryu shook his head. "No…there is someone else I need to see."

They didn't need their leader's permission to let in any of the Hayabusa clan members. Therefore, the guards didn't question Ryu any further and immediately open the gate for him.

Ryu walked inside, but he didn't know where he was headed once he got inside. He looked around, the villagers that passed him looked at him in a surprise manner. But Ryu was too focus on finding out where he should go.

"Master Ryu."

He quickly turned around.

"Ayane."

Ayane looked at him in shock. "What are you doing here? Hayate never said that we were expecting your visit…"

"That's because I'm not here for him."

"Oh, how can I help you then?" Ayane wondered.

"Where do I find Kasumi?"

Immediately, Ayane wanted to roll her eyes but out of respect she held it in, and why didn't it came as a surprise to her either…

"If you're looking for Kasumi in this village, then you won't find her here."

Ryu was a little surprised of hearing that. Did Kasumi run away again? What the hell did he miss? Should he worry? He frowned strangely at Ayane.

"Where is she?"

"She never returned to Mugen Tenshin ever since her released. I assumed you knew…."

"I see, and do you know where I could find her?"

Ayane went ahead and gave him Kasumi's address in Tokyo. She wasn't sure if she should had given him the address or not but she didn't really care.

"Thank you, Ayane." Ryu smiled.

"Take care." Ayane smiled back and then disappeared towards the training ground nearby to continue her activity.

Ryu didn't see any more reason to stay and so he began to make his way out of the village. As he approached the gate, someone shouted his name and he turned around.

"You're back…?" Hayate wore a look of surprise and took a big bite of the apple in his hand.

"Do you ever stop eating?"

"I'm hungry, I just had a long meeting with your father and bunch of other elders. Do you know how tiring that is? Just because I'm the youngest amongst them, does not give them the right to talk over me." Hayate whined.

Ryu only gave him a stare that said he didn't care.

"Hey, why didn't you tell me that you're coming to visit?"

"Why should I?"

"Because we're friends…"

"Are we?" Ryu's stare suddenly became deadly, just like how he would look at his enemy.

Hayate didn't get his attitude. He was baffled by Ryu's coldness wondering what was the scary stare all about…

Ryu shook his head in annoyance, "I don't have time for this right now." Then turned to leave.

"Where are you going?"

"It's none of your business. I'll deal with you later." Ryu quickly replied with his back turned.

"And what is that supposed to mean…?"

"Ryu!"

Hayate kept on shouting. But it was useless, as Ryu had disappeared out of the gate and vanished into thin air.


	7. Chapter 7

Hours later, Ryu arrived in Tokyo. The city reminded him a lot of New York. Noisy and crowded with people. No matter where he turned there were neon lights, restaurants and cafes on every corner. Kasumi had told him one time, how she found the big city interesting, a place full of opportunities and how she would love to live in a big city. She would talk about it as if she was talking about a dream. At the time he didn't really think she was being serious, so it didn't come as a surprise to him that she chose to live in Tokyo.

After searching for a while, he paused at a street sign with the street name that pointed towards Kasumi's address. A sudden whispering voice somewhere in the back of his mind was telling him whether or not this was a good idea. What good would come out of him showing up at her doorstep out of the blue? And what would he say to her? It seemed like a good idea hours ago...he started to reconsider his plan to visit her.

Ryu had blocked out a lot of thing about his past. Now the memories of him and Kasumi seemed to keep replaying in his mind. Perhaps, being this close to seeing her again, triggered all the past memories. They didn't have the best relation back then due to her situation. Kasumi was the opposite of what he was as a shinobi, and he tried to keep it strictly professional between them. Just an ally helping another in need. But sometimes she was just too difficult to deal with that he had done and said thing he wish he wouldn't. Kasumi probably thought that he didn't care about her, and if she only knew how much she meant to him despite their differences. Ryu let out a deep sigh at his thought and decided to return back to New York. He figured that it was best to leave Kasumi alone.

When the early October wind flew by, Ryu shivered and adjusted his scarf. He was cold, hungry and sleepy. Before he return home to New York, Ryu decided to find a café nearby for a little rest and break, as he had been wandering around since he got to Japan. Right when he was about to go over the street, someone familiar suddenly caught the corner of his eyes. A small smile played on his lips.

Kasumi adjusted her hot pink and gold scarf around her neck. "What a cold day…" She said in a low whisper while shivering through her teeth.

Once again, she was late on picking up her son. Kasumi felt bad that he had to be in the kindergarten for extra longer time every day due to her crazy work hours. Even though Takeshi had come back into their lives, he wasn't as presence as he used to be due to their separate lives. All they manage to do when they got home was, dinner, a little television and sleep. It left them a little time to do any other fun activities. Maybe this weekend Hayate could take Tenzou to the park and do something fun. Today would be different than any other day because Kasumi was expecting someone for dinner. Which, she come to think of it, she must stop by the market for grocery shopping. Kasumi would do it on the way back after she had picked up Tenzou. She smiled sweetly and opened the gate to the kindergarten.

"Kasumi."

Every muscle in her body froze in a stunned surprise.

 _It can't be…? that voice…_

The voice couldn't be mistaken for anyone else's.

Her eyes tilted to the corner noticing a tall manly figure in long black coat and red scarf around his neck. Kasumi turned, but too slowly to be normal. Her face turned chalk white and she forgot how to breathe for a moment at the sight of the man standing so closely to her. Her heart was beating uncontrollably fast and her lungs fought for oxygen.

Ryu frowned, at first he was happy when he approached her but Kasumi's unblinking terrified stare made him a little nervous.

"Haya…busa…" Her lips trembled, barely able to force her voice out.

"I didn't mean to scare you…"

"What are you doing here…?" Kasumi's eyes looked around and behind him like a crazy person, expecting to see Hayate or Irene.

"What was that?" Ryu didn't quite hear her due to the scarf covering her mouth.

She raised her head and pulled it down, "What are you doing in Tokyo? Or Japan…?" She asked nervously.

"I came to visit my father and took a detour if you wish…" He didn't want to say that he was looking for her.

Then he smiled, thinking of inviting her to eat or go to a café somewhere and talk. He had been curious on how she had been doing all these years, despite how it didn't end on a happy note between them.

"Are you busy right now?" He asked.

"I'm waiting… I mean picking, someone…right now." Slurring on her words.

He looked disappointed, but he didn't want to bother her more than he should. He was just happy to run into her even for a brief moment. "Okay." He smiled. "Well, it's nice to see you again Kasu…"

Someone came running towards them in excitement quickly grabbing their attention.

"Mama!" Tenzou shouted. Kasumi gave her son a big hug. He must have seen her standing outside and didn't bother to wait for her to come to him instead. The kindergarten teacher came out running behind Tenzou with his backpack and handed it to Kasumi.

"He spotted you through the window and made a run for it." Said the teacher with a chuckle.

Kasumi burst into a soft laughter and said thank you. The lady then disappeared back inside the kindergarten.

Ryu observed and wore a puzzled expression.

"Is he…?"

She replied with a simple nod. "This is my son…Tenzou."

Tenzou glared at Ryu in a curious manner.

Ryu smiled. "Hello Tenzou, my name is Ryu. I'm an old friend of your mother."

Tenzou acted a little shy like he usually would around new faces and quickly hid himself behind Kasumi. He peeked and tilted at Ryu.

Kasumi noticed Ryu's frown became deeper the longer he looked at her son. She tried to redirect his attention back to her.

"Um, how long are you staying in the city for?"

"I'm going back to New York later today."

"I see, I wish I could stay and talk to you Hayabusa, but…"

Ryu completely ignored Kasumi and bent down. Tenzou continued to peek at him curiously.

"How old are you Tenzou?" He asked softly.

Tenzou lifted his hand and slowly counted, then showed Ryu three fingers.

Ryu smiled, "You're that many huh."

He raised back up and his expression changed all of sudden, giving Kasumi a stern expression as he stared deeply into her eyes.

She drew a deep, shuddery breath. "I'm sorry, but we have to go. Have a safe trip back." Kasumi lifted her son to carry him and walked away without looking back.

Tenzou rested his head on his mother's shoulder and looked back at Ryu who was still standing looking their way. Tenzou waved to him and mouthed, "Bye..." Repeatedly.

 **Later that night…**

Kasumi rubbed her eyes and shifted in her bed. The alarm clock on her night stand said that was a little over midnight. Hayabusa had been hunting her mind ever since she went to bed at 10 pm. After she saw him, nothing she did that was right. She couldn't even enjoy her dinner because all she could think about was him.

Why was he in town? Was it a coincidence or was he actually looking for her?

Not that it mattered. However, she did feel bad for walking away like that. He must have been thinking that she was still angry with him or something. Kasumi pushed herself into a sitting position and sighed warily. "Damn it…" she muttered under her breath.

 _Relax Kasumi…_

Unable to go back to sleep, Kasumi grabbed her robe and headed to the kitchen to get something to drink. Maybe that would ease her mind a little. As she walked through the hallway, she paused at Tenzou's bedroom. Kasumi kept her feet light and peeked inside as quiet as possible. She smiled at the sight Tenzou that was sound asleep. He hadn't been sleeping well these past weeks, but that didn't seem to be the case anymore. It could be because Takeshi was back into their lives, thought Kasumi. His absence has had a great impact on Tenzou.

She continued towards the kitchen and drank a quick glass of water. She would try and get some sleep before her hectic morning start. Yawning her eyes out, Kasumi dragged herself back to her bedroom.

The doorbell rang.

Her feet froze in the middle of the hallway between her bedroom and living room. Did she hear right? How strange she thought…it couldn't be burglary as what kind of thief would be stupid enough to ring the doorbell. It wasn't as if she was afraid of any thief. Her fighting skills might come in handy again after a while. It rang again, startling her. Before the sound would wake her son, she hurried towards the door. She felt a little uneasy as she approached the door, thinking that it could be Ayane or Hayate with some emergency news. The only reasonable conclusion she could come up with to why someone would ring her door at late hour. Whoever it was, she couldn't just ignore.

She tiptoed and looked through the peek hole.

 _What is he doing here…?_

Kasumi ran both hands through her hair, slowly began panicking. Should she open the door or ignore…no she couldn't ignore? Maybe she could, so she only stood there, hoping for him to give up and go away. It got quiet for a moment and she felt a slight relief lifted off her chest. But to make sure, she peeked through the hole again.

"I know you're there, so open up."

Kasumi began cursing to herself, she should have known…Kasumi sighed and opened the door.

"What are you doing here this hour? And how did you know where I…wait, did you follow me earlier?" She talked in a low whisper.

He didn't respond. His eyes were narrowed and cold.

"Why are you looking at me like that, Hayabusa? Why are you here?" She didn't like the way he was looking at her.

"Is he mine?" He asked.

Kasumi's eyes grew wide, "What…?"

"Is Tenzou my son?" He repeated. His voice was soft but firm.

Her heart hammered erratically, his angry stare was tearing her heart. She could feel his anger boiling by the second. He looked wary, there were shadows in his eyes as well under them.

"Do you realize what time this is? And what made you think that my son is…"

"Answer the question, Kasumi."

Somehow that irritated her completely. "I'm not doing this with you. You have no right to come here…"

"Do not play this game with me! If he's not mine, then deny it." He interrupted once again, and his voice raised a notch.

An annoyed sound rose out from her throat, "You're crazy you know that." She said and turned around to go back inside because she didn't want to deal with him at this point. Suddenly, Kasumi felt a strong big hand pulling her back, as Ryu had grabbed her tightly by her arm.

"Answer the damn question, Kasumi."

Kasumi winced around but he was too strong. "Hayabusa you're hurting me… let go of my arm, what is wrong with you?!" but he didn't let go, he only pulled her closer to him.

"Kasumi? What is going on?"

Ryu quickly looked behind her at the sound of the voice approaching them from inside the apartment.

"You really should go." Kasumi whispered. "Please, Ryu don't do this now…"

"Oh, so now it's Ryu?" He growled lowly to her face and released her arm in a force making Kasumi stumbling back a few steps.

His forest green eyes met and locked at the man behind her.

Kasumi panted, as pure fear strike her chest. Ryu was acting crazy and she was afraid he wouldn't leave and cause more scene.

"Who the hell are you?" Takeshi asked strangely.

Ryu didn't respond, he looked back at Kasumi. But her eyes were teary pleading him to leave.

"He got the wrong apartment that's all…" The only excuse she could think.

Ryu briefly looked down at their hands, noticing their wedding rings. He gave Kasumi a final furious glance, and then left.

"That's not strange at all…" Takeshi mumbled. He kissed her shoulder and then whispered. "Next time a stranger rings the doorbell in the middle of the night, you shouldn't just open it Kasumi."

"I don't know what I was thinking…" Not realizing a couple of tears had escaped her eyes. She kept her back facing him and looked down at her arm. Ryu left his hand print, it wasn't that visible but she could see it. Kasumi had seen Ryu got angry before but not quite like this. This time it was personal.

"He could have been a lunatic, a killer…don't do it again, or wake me up first at least." Takeshi went on.

"Yeah…" She replied.

"Come on, let's go back to bed." He placed a kiss to the back of her head.

Kasumi went back inside with him and closed the door behind them. She couldn't take another step, as everything was spinning around making her dizzy all of sudden. Unexpectedly, she buried her face in his chest and ball out crying without any warning. Takeshi was confused.

"Hey, what's wrong? Kasumi?"

More tears raced down her cheeks uncontrollably.

"Why are you crying…?" Now he was worried.

She didn't reply but kept on sobbing that became more hysterically by the second. He didn't know what to think, and what had made her so upset. But he quit asking and comforted her for the moment by wrapping his arm tightly around his ex-wife.


	8. Chapter 8

Kasumi lowered herself into the comfy sofa in her living room with a teacup in her hand while Tenzou played with his stuff animals on the floor. She sat silently thinking for a time. It was almost a week ago since the incident with Ryu. She hadn't heard from him since then. After that night, Kasumi was afraid that Ryu was still in the city and that he would show up at her doorstep again. The final furious glance he gave her confirmed that he was far from done. Takeshi had also been trying to get her to tell him what happened that had made her so upset that night, and he thought it was because of something he had said or done…but Kasumi had been avoiding him too. She wasn't ready to deal with the whole situation nor did she know how to deal with any of it.

She thought about Takeshi. They had talked about their break up days before the incident occurred. She agreed that the divorce was a mistake on her part. Her anger got the best of her and a divorce was the quick way out when they should have given more time and effort to fix their marriage problems. They were both miserable during their separations. In the end, they agreed on taking things slow. That day, they had dinner together and they were a family again. Later that evening, they also shared an unexpected passionate kiss. Despite their plan on taking it slow, they couldn't resist as the sparks were still there after all. She had missed him and he had missed her. Everything was slowly going on the right track again. Now Takeshi must be feeling so confused with why all of sudden she was giving him cold shoulders…

Sighing warily at her thoughts, Kasumi took a sip from her tea and looked at her son. Her sadden expression changed into a loving smile seeing how happy and carefree he was.

Then her mind suddenly drifted back to the day when Tenzou was born. The most scary and painful day, but at the same time the most meaningful day of her life. When the nurse handed the newly born Tenzou and she held him in her arms for the first time, an instant joy and warmth filled her heart in the sweetest way she could imagined. Indescribable feelings she never even knew existed in the world. At that moment, everything that had happened in her past suddenly seemed so petty. Nothing else mattered but him. Kasumi made a lifetime promise to her newborn that she would be the best mother she could be and that he would never pay for any of his parent's mistake.

The sudden sound of the rain tapping heavily against her windows shook Kasumi back to reality.

Tenzou placed his stuff animals in a perfect line. He had gotten a new a teddy bear and he wanted to introduce it to the others. Kasumi continued observing in silent. He lifted the teddy bear and made silly voices.

"Hello, my name is Ryu."

Kasumi almost spilled her tea onto her lap in a surprise. He met Hayabusa once and he memorized his name… she put the teacup down on the table.

"Tenzou?"

He turned to her.

"What do you say we go for a little visit to your grandparents?"

In excitement, he walked over to his mother. "Where uncle Hayate is?" He asked, and Kasumi nodded with a small smile.

Tenzou jumped around cheerfully. "Mama, can I bring Ryu with me?"

"Sure…" Her smile turned uncomfortable.

Tenzou then ran to his bedroom to get his backpack ready. Kasumi followed to help him. She was excited to go back and be with her family for a few days.

Much later that evening, Kasumi arrived at the Mugen Tenshin. Tenzou had fallen asleep in her arms on the way over there. She went straight to her parent's house and knocked on the door.

"Kasumi? What a pleasant surprise…" Said her mother Ayame when she opened the door.

"Hello mother. I know it is rude of me for not letting you know beforehand that we were coming, but I was hoping you'd let us stay here this weekend?"

"Well of course, this is your home too Kasumi."

Ayame happily let her daughter inside the house. "But why have you decided to surprise visit us?" She wondered out of curiosity.

"I miss my family." Kasumi simply replied with a smile.

It made Ayame glad to hear, that her daughter was starting to feel a little at home again.

"Is there somewhere I can put him? My arms hurt…"

Ayame gestured for Kasumi to follow her to a spare bedroom. She then gently laid Tenzou down on a futon.

"Poor boy, he must have been tired travelling all this far." Ayame said, as she drew the cover over Tenzou's shoulders.

"He's growing up so fast…soon I won't be able to carry him anymore." Kasumi sighed.

"Enjoy every moment Kasumi. Because before you know it, he's all grown up then all of sudden you feel like you've missed out wondering where did all those years go..."

Kasumi frowned to herself, as why what her mother said had suddenly bothered her? She shook the feeling off and they let Tenzou rest.

They headed over to the kitchen, as it was almost dinner time. Kasumi happily help her mother with making dinner. She picked up the chopping knife and began cutting the vegetables into perfect matchsticks. Ayame was impressed with how fast Kasumi was doing it, like a professional chef and it took her seconds. Then she moved on to peeling the carrots.

Being in the kitchen with her mother brought back many sweet memories. Hayate and Ayane hated helping out in the kitchen, while Kasumi loved it. She used to help with baking and prepare dinner. Sometimes she would play around and just be mixing up things to try and create her own recipes.

"I have missed this," Kasumi said. "It reminded me of a happier time…"

Ayame didn't remember when the last time she had all her children present by the dining table, and so she looked forward to having this dinner as a complete family.

"Where is everyone?" Kasumi then asked, noticing how quiet it was in the house.

"I don't know where your brother is but he promised to stop by for dinner, and Ayane is probably with him. Your father is somewhere in the house…"

A good moment later, a lot of noise approached the kitchen. Shiden, Hayate and Ayane entered but paused at the unexpected sight of Kasumi. Hayate was happy to see her and so did Shiden. Ayane however looked a little reluctant about being there and tried evasion.

"Um, I think I'll skip dinner…"

But Hayate gave her a stern expression, as he knew what she was trying to do. They all looked at her.

Ayane sighed, "Fine…" she stayed and took a sit by the table next to Hayate, completely avoiding eyes contact with Kasumi.

It didn't bother Kasumi. She kept her happy face on and try to enjoy the time with her family.

"Kasumi, why didn't you let me know that you were coming? I was supposed to watch Tenzou this weekend." Hayate wondered.

"I wanted to spend time with my family instead." She simply replied.

"And we are glad that you're here." Shiden added.

Then Kasumi and her mother began placing the prepared food on the table and took their seats.

Hayate sighed, "I guess I can see Hitomi next weekend…" not realizing that he had said it out loud.

All eyes were on him all of sudden. Ayane looked the most surprised.

Kasumi wore a puzzled expression, "You were planning on meeting her?"

"I needed a reason to see her again, and since Tenzou is in her weekend class I thought maybe I ask her out then. I can't just show up and make a fool of myself."

"The German girl?" Shiden strangely wondered.

Ayane turned to Hayate. "Wait, how did you…" Then her eyes shifted angrily towards Kasumi from across the table. "Didn't I warn you to shut your mouth about that girl?"

"Do you ever stop and consider others feelings before doing whatever the hell you want to?!" She continued.

"Ayane, that's enough!" Hayate strictly told her.

Kasumi sat stunned by Ayane's reaction.

Ayane then rose out from her chair. "I'm sorry, I can't do this…" and walked out.

"What's got into her...?" Hayate shook his head, rather annoyed with his sister's behavior.

"Maybe it wasn't a good idea that I'm here…"

"Just give her time." Ayame joined, a little disappointed as she had looked forward to have all her family by the table.

Silence briefly surrounded the kitchen walls due to the tension Ayane caused, but Shiden decided to fill the silence.

"So, are you in love with this girl?"

The seriousness in his voice made Hayate a little unsure on how to respond. "Why are you asking me that?"

"Don't you think that it's about time for you to consider settling down and have a family? After all, it is requiring of you."

Hayate sighed, somewhat a little annoyed with the subject. "I'm ready when I'm ready."

Then he looked at his father thinking, "Would you have approved of Hitomi?"

Ayame and Shiden exchanged glances. "We would prefer for you to choose a village girl."

"But what if I choose Hitomi to be my wife?"

There was another brief of silence before Shiden responded, "As long as you don't do what Ryu did, abandoning your responsibilities and move to Germany…"

"Then I just have to convince Hitomi to live with me." Hayate replied with a faint smirk and his eyes held a glint of humor.

Ayame and Shiden quickly exchanged glances again, wondering if their son was teasing or being serious.

They began to notice how quiet Kasumi was all of sudden and she had barely touched her food.

"Is something wrong honey? are you not hungry?" Asked her mother.

She didn't seem to hear her…

"Kasumi?" Hayate then tried.

Startled, she looked at them. "I'm sorry… I'm just a little tired."

Hayate studied her from across the table.

"Then you should go get some rest…" Ayame suggested.

"I will be here the entire weekend, and I promise to be a better company tomorrow." She felt guilty for her aloofness behavior.

They didn't question her any further and Kasumi excused herself. Hayate raised a brow at Kasumi as she walked away, wondering what was bothering his sister…

From the hallway, Kasumi could still hear her parents and Hayate talking. She paused briefly at the doorway to the bedroom to listen.

" _May I have some more?"_ Hayate asked.

" _Since Kasumi and Ayane didn't eat, go ahead. There's plenty of food."_ Ayame replied.

" _How can you eat this much…"_ Shiden mumbled.

" _I'm hungry. Those old geezers got on my last nerve today. I seem to eat a lot more after I had meetings with them. How did you put up with these people father?"_

" _Watch your language son! You do not refer to the elders that way."_

" _I will I will…"_ Hayate replied in a monotone voice.

" _Now don't start you two. Here, eat some more."_ Ayame gave Hayate more food.

" _Stop pampering him Ayame, this is why he doesn't take anything seriously."_

" _What do you mean I don't take anything seriously?!"_

" _Be quiet both of you, Tenzou is sleeping in the other room, you might wake him…"_

Kasumi couldn't help but let out a giggle. Their voices slowly faded away once she got inside the bedroom.

 **The following morning…**

Kasumi decided to go on an early morning walk around the Mugen Tenshin alone. Her mother happily agreed to look after Tenzou, and so she got a little time to herself. She had almost forgotten what a peaceful morning felt like. The air was fresher than the city. The village was so quiet and the sun was still resolutely below the horizon. Even though Kasumi loved living in the city, however there was still a little part of her that misses the tranquil green of the forest and the sounds of the river flow. If she stopped walking for a second, she could even hear her own heartbeat.

There was a place she hadn't been in years. It laid in the heart of the forest that were surrounded the Mugen Tenshin, a place filled with sweet memories. Kasumi turned to the road path that lead towards the hillside. Already from the distance she could hear the water tumbled down into a blue river below, tinkled in a roar sort of ways from the series of mini waterfalls. The closer she got towards the waterfall the louder the roar noise became. Kasumi then suddenly slowed down her pace when another sound catches her curiosity. As she approached closer, she paused in a good distance.

Ayane seemed to be deep into her ninjutsu training. Kasumi watched in an awe, impressed with what she was seeing. Ayane's speed and kunai throw was lightning fast.

"Sorry I'm late…" Hayate came running from the hill down towards the river almost bumping into Kasumi.

"Kasumi, what are you doing here?" He abruptly stopped.

Their voices quickly grabbed Ayane's attention making her turned around looking at her siblings with a frown, while panting heavily.

"I got up early and went for a morning walk, but I should head back anyway…."

"Stick around a little longer, you can watch me and Ayane spar."

That made Ayane irritated. She then grabbed her belongings and walked away, and she didn't care if Hayate thought she was being rude.

"Where are you going?" Hayate asked when Ayane passed them by.

"Anywhere else but here."

"What about our training? You made me come all the way here for nothing?"

Ayane ignored.

"Ayane?!" Hayate shouted, but Ayane kept on walking until she disappeared.

"What do I have to do to get a little respect around here…" Hayate mumbled in annoyance.

"She respects you, she just hates me." Kasumi let out a hopeless sigh and walked towards the river. She took a sit on the grass and gazed towards the falling waterfall.

 _What a beautiful sight…_

Hayate placed himself next to her and looked the same way.

She turned to him, "Why are you still here? Shouldn't you be with Ayane?"

"I don't think Ayane cares right now. Last night after dinner I went looking for her, to make sure that she was okay after her mini outburst, but I got an earful from her instead…and she had the nerve to speak to me that way." Hayate shook his head. "This isn't like her…"

"It's my fault...she has a grudge over me and I don't blame her. I want for me and Ayane to be sisters again, but right now I don't even know how to fix my own problems…"

There was silence. They continued gazing towards the beautiful waterfall for a time.

A smile suddenly lit up Kasumi's face, "This place brings so many sweet memories..."

"How come?"

"Ayane and I loved to come here and play when we were kids."

Hayate smiled with her as he listened.

"I remember I was about seven and Ayane five. I wasn't allowed to come here alone but I didn't care. We would talk about how cool it would be to go to the beach and swim in the real ocean, walking on the sand, dipping our feet in the foam, and making sandcastles. But there weren't any beaches nearby since we live so far deep in the forest. So this place was the closest we got to a beach."

"That explained why you sometimes came home all muddy and soaked. Mother and father would be so angry because they didn't know where you had been…oh wait, that's not it. They weren't angry with you but with me because I was supposed to watch after you." He chuckled.

"Well, things got a little blurry for me… all I remembered was that, Ayane and I somehow drifted apart."

Hayate wasn't sure what had happened between his sisters either. He had tried to encourage Ayane to talk to Kasumi, but all he got as the response was why he was always taking Kasumi's side. It was hopeless when he got two stubborn sisters. As much as he would like to see his sisters getting along, there wasn't much he could do.

"So, are you really serious about asking Hitomi out?" Kasumi suddenly changed the subject.

"At first, but now I don't know if reconnecting with her would be a good idea…"

"Why not? You seemed so eager about her days ago…I mean, who said that you have to date Hitomi but you guys can just hang out as friends. You were close friend with her after all, weren't you?"

Hayate sighed deeply. "That's the thing, I don't want just to be friends with her. I regretted not pursuing her before and so I thought I grabbed the chance now, but father was right. I got to think ahead, and if things do work out the way I want it too, then it would only lead to Ryu's type of situation. There's no need to drag Hitomi into this…"

"So, what are you saying?"

"I'm saying, I'm leaving her alone."

Somehow Kasumi was disappointed about that, as she was rooting for them. Every time her brother would talk about the girl, his eyes always sparkled. Hitomi clearly had a soft spot in his heart even after all these years. It made her wonder what truly happened between them during his stay in Germany. But just like her, some things he probably would rather keep to himself.

"You have to do what's right for you Hayate…"

Hayate smiled to that, but his smile quickly faded and his expression changed. "Ryu was here last week by the way..." He said.

Kasumi shifted followed with a deep sigh. She wasn't sure whether or not she should tell Hayate about her encounter with Ryu, but something grew strongly suspicious within her.

"YOU were the one who told him where I was didn't you?!"

Hayate's eyes grew wide. "What? No…I swear." Then he realized, "Ryu went to see you?"

He waited for a response and Kasumi gave him a nod. Now he wondered if Ryu had seen Tenzou too.

"So, what happened?"

Kasumi took her time, "I ran into him…or he was looking for me, I wasn't sure…" She began.

Hayate patiently listened.

"He seemed happy to see me at first, but he got all weird when he saw Tenz…" Kasumi did not finish her thought, as now she was suddenly reluctant to talk about that day.

A deep frown wrinkling on Hayate's forehead. But he didn't encourage her to continue and waited for her to decide herself.

"And I thought he had gone home but he showed up again at my door in the middle of the night…If Takeshi wasn't there he wouldn't have given up..." All of sudden, she felt like crying remembering Ryu's rage, but held her tears in.

Somehow Hayate wasn't surprised to hear what his sister had just told him. But he was still a little confused since Kasumi clearly left out a lot of information. That doesn't sound like something Ryu would do, showing up in the middle the night at his sister's door for no reason…unless…it somewhat hit him.

"What was your ex doing there in the middle of the night?"

Kasumi sighed, "It's complicated…" as she didn't want to get into it.

"So, Ryu showed up at your doorstep in the middle of the night when he should have gone home to his wonderful wife…it must have been important."

Kasumi didn't respond. It was almost as if she didn't hear him. Was his sister truly this in denial? Hayate wondered. He raised to his feet and looked down at her.

"You do see it, right…?"

Kasumi raised her head and looked up at him with question marks on top of her head.

"See what?"

"How much Tenzou resembled to Ryu."

She wasn't sure she liked his plainness…

"Oh, because he has green eyes? and Ryu is the only one on this earth with green eyes right..." Kasumi rolled her eyes as she said it.

"No, and it could be a pure coincidence, unless Takeshi has family members with green eyes?"

She looked away from him, as her brother was starting to get on her nerve because she could tell that he wasn't going to shut up about the matter. She shouldn't have said anything.

"I don't know what really happened between you and Ryu, but Tenzou looks just like him. If you had seen a picture of Ryu at Tenzou's age…"

Irritation sliced through Kasumi even more, "What are you getting at Hayate?" she cut him off.

Kasumi might kill him at the spot and this could blow up in his face but he needed to know, "Is there any chance that Ryu is Tenzou's father…?"

She looked at him looking rather annoyed. "If you don't mind, I would like to be alone…" She told him flatly.

Hayate shook his head at her sudden mood changed and began walking away. He briefly paused in his steps and looked back at her.

"Tenzou deserves to know who his real father is. His whole future relies on that fact. You saw what secrets did to our family." Then Hayate disappeared.

 **Meanwhile…**

 _Where is it? did I forget it by the river?_ Ayane wondered strangely, searching for one of her missing kunai knife.

As she passed by her mother's house, her eyes locked on the little boy playing on the front porch of the house in his pajamas and a teddy bear laid next to him. She approached closer when something familiar caught her eyes. She rushed towards him.

"Where did you get that?"

Tenzou was startled and quickly turned to her. He didn't respond but kept looking at her.

Ayane sighed. "Hand it to me, you shouldn't be playing with that, it's not a toy."

Tenzou reluctantly handed the kunai with a purple Iris flower attached to it. Ayane snatch it out of his hand before he could give it back to her and looked thoroughly at it. She must have forgotten the kunai at the house last night. Suddenly, Tenzou stood in front of her with the teddy bear in his hand, while he closely studied Ayane's other weapon in her other hand. Ayane frowned at him wondering why he was staring at her hand annoyingly long…

"What is that?" He asked.

"What's what?"

"That…" He pointed.

"What does it matter, you wouldn't understand even if I tell you."

Tenzou kept on looking at it in a curious manner. Ayane let out another sigh.

"It's a star shuriken…" She replied anyway.

"Can I play?"

"Didn't I tell you just now that these are not toys? Go play with your teddy bear…" She told him, but Tenzou was now staring up at her.

"What?" Ayane asked.

"Why is your hair purple?" He wondered, but he was still too young to put a full sentence together so he would slur a little when asking questions.

"And why are you asking so many questions?"

Hayate showed up laughing at his sister. "He has only been around for three years, everything is a wonder to him."

"Hey Tenzou, come here."

Tenzou quickly ran to his uncle and jumped into his arms. Hayate caught him effortlessly.

"Did you see how high he jumped? He's a ninja kid alright." Hayate teased.

"Whatever…" Ayane responded.

"What a cool looking teddy." Hayate smiled to his nephew, ignoring his sister's grumpy attitude.

"Mama bought me, his name is Ryu."

Hayate's eyes widened a little," You don't say…" somewhat a little amused.

 _What a strange kid…_ Ayane thought silently.

"I hope you guys are hungry, because I'm about to prepare a special breakfast for everyone." Kasumi showed up behind them. While Hayate looked excited, Ayane turned and walked away.

"I'm not hungry."

Hayate sighed. "Ayane, come on…"

But Ayane kept on walking.

"Let her go, it's okay." Kasumi responded. She then gave Tenzou a good morning kiss and went inside the house to start preparing breakfast. Hayate followed.

"Kasumi…?"

She looked at him questionably.

"About earlier, it wasn't my place…"

"It's fine, I know you meant well." She faintly smiled.

* * *

 **Besweet:** _I meant to post this chapter days ago, but I was too tired to get around to edit it since I'm back to work again. I miss vacation…_

 _Thank you again for taking the time to read, hope you enjoyed:)_


	9. Chapter 9

_How could she do this to me…?_

A sick sense of betrayal sank into Ryu's stomach, as he gazed towards the cloudless sky from his window apartment back in New York. Since his return, he hadn't been able to have any good night sleep, no appetite for anything, and he couldn't even focus at work. He wanted to stay in Tokyo so he could confront Kasumi again, but he was so damn mad at her that he decided to return home to do some thinking, to let it all sink in and not let his anger get the best of him. If Tenzou was truly his son, he wouldn't want to be seen angry around his mother and scare him. He needed a different approach to the situation. Ryu closed his eyes to try and remember Tenzou again.

 _He looks just like me…_

He thought for a minute more, flipping through his mental inventory of his past. Were there signs? Did Kasumi know if she was pregnant before he left to New York? He couldn't think of anything that would explain any of it…and maybe he did overreact when he saw her son or maybe Kasumi got with that guy right after he had left to New York and got pregnant by him. Ayane did say that Kasumi never returned to Mugen Tenshin, so maybe she was already involved with the guy at the time…he kept on thinking trying to put some pieces together.

 _No…_ Ryu shook his head to himself. His gut feelings strongly suggested otherwise. He couldn't turn away from it. Kasumi had all the reason to deny he was the father that night but she didn't. _She knew…_ but why would Kasumi kept Tenzou a secret from him? What was her reasoning? The more Ryu tried to figure things out the more confusing and frustrating it became for him.

His breathing shallowed to release the tension that kept on growing within him, because all the thinking was starting to give him a headache. Irene had eagerly asked about his short trip, but somehow Ryu managed to avoid going into the details that she didn't need to know for now. And with his wife being a professional interrogator, she was probably starting to get suspicious of his behavior by now. He hadn't been himself since he came back. Even if he had told her the truth, what was he supposed to say that wouldn't end their marriage right away?

Ryu pushed all his thoughts aside for a moment when his eyes narrowed to the street below towards a car that just pulled out in front of their building. It wasn't their car, but it made him curious since he thought he saw a reflection of his wife on the passenger's seat. The same car he had seen that have been picking and dropping his wife off work a few times this week. True enough he saw right. She held a conversation with the driver for a good minute before going out of the car. A deep sigh escaped Ryu. Minutes later, Irene opened the front door and walked inside towards the living room, but then paused at the sight of her husband staring out the window. He was either too deep in his thoughts or he didn't care that she just got home. No hugs and kisses, and that was how it had been this entire week, it was unlike them and it started to worry her. Ryu had been distanced, physically and emotionally. It made her wonder what had happened during his short trip to Japan…

Ryu suddenly turned and marched over to his wife who stood frowning at him. He approached her with a smile, then placed a soft kiss on her lips. Her frown disappeared and was replaced with a relieve smile. But something still felt different to her, as if he was pretending to look happy. But she didn't want to overthink or approach him with her worries and just let it be for now. She figured that he would let her know whatever it was that was bothering him when he was ready to talk about it. The rest of evening went fine, they had dinner and spent quality time together. It went more than fine, they even made love again. She guessed that she got nothing to worry about.

Much later that night, Ryu laid wide awake on his bed staring at the ceiling in the dark. He turned to his sleeping wife and placed a light kiss on her forehead. He then got out of bed, went to the bathroom to splash cold water on his face. Instead of going back to bed, he went to the kitchen to get something to drink. He filled a glass of water, marched over to the living room and sat down on the couch in the dark. The sounds of rain tapping heavily against the windows followed with loud rumbling sounds of thunder from far away dragged his mind back to the days he got close to Kasumi. Closer than he should have…

 **Tokyo, Japan**

Like any other night, Kasumi read her son a bedtime story. Tenzou rested his head to the side of his mother's shoulder listening to his favorite three kittens story. It didn't take long before he closed his eyes and fell asleep. Kasumi noticed and smiled. She closed the book, gently placed Tenzou in his bed and tucked him in nicely, then she placed a quick kiss to his forehead and headed out. It was only a few hours ago that they came back from Mugen Tenshin. Bedtime sometimes was a struggle as Tenzou could be stubborn. But tonight he fell asleep quicker than usual since Hayate had tired him out earlier that day. He had missed his weekend karate class, but Hayate had taught Tenzou a few new karate moves.

Kasumi however wasn't ready to go to bed yet, so she made herself a cup of tea and sat down on the couch to relax after a long day. The rain season seemed to had pushed in and it was pouring out. She hated the sounds of thunder, it reminded her of the runaway days when she had to sleep alone in the dark woods, with all kinds of scary growls and screeches echoing through the night, with only pine needles for beds and leaves for blankets. Until this day, every time there was a thunderstorm out, she would automatically get a little paranoid and scared as the past memories were still affecting her. The sound of rain was usually soothing to others but not to Kasumi. Back then, raining meant bad news as the Mugen assassins would often strike during stormy nights. Due to the rain washing off their scents, she had a hard time sensing their approached like she usually would. That's when she wouldn't fall asleep at any cost because she had to be extra cautious. There were a few times where she came close to losing to them, but Ryu never failed to find her and saved her at the last minute.

Ryu would then stay with her in the woods for a few days before he had to leave for missions or go back home to his own village. He had a clan to run and was demanded on missions all over the world. He couldn't stay with her for too long. She would miss him when he had to leave, but she didn't want him to think that she was unable to look after herself. It was a pride thing for Kasumi even though there were times she wanted him to stay. Kasumi breathe out a light sigh and sipped from her tea and thought back about the days when she and Ryu had their fair share intimate moments.

 **~Flashbacks~**

It was a cold night in the forest. Kasumi tucked her arms together and shivered when the wind flew by stinging her entire body. It had been only a few hours ago since her last encounter with her brother's assassins. If Ryu hadn't found her, she would have been done for this time. Her gaze tracked down to her white attire that barely covered anything. Her body was full with bruises and cuts from that day's fight. She then moved her gaze towards the fish that were slowly cooking over the small campfire that Ryu had built. Sometimes they had something to talk about while waiting for their dinner and sometimes it was complete silent. Ryu wasn't the type who would start a conversation but he wasn't much of a talker in general. He was quite a mystery to her even after knowing him since childhood.

Her stomach growled hungrily and Kasumi squirmed where she sat to try to silence the rumbling. Just looking at those fish made her mouth water. She could think of twenty different ways to prepare them, but being a runaway, those were just a hopeless fantasy to her. She was lucky if she could find any protein to eat at all on daily basis. Even when she would escape to the city, she would still have to make quick money to be able to afford food.

Now and then Ryu would glance at her, trailing his eyes over her body, looking at the bruises and cuts she had gotten. Kasumi got little embarrassed when she caught him scanning her body. She awkwardly tried to cover her bare thighs with whatever left from her attire.

Ryu let out a sigh and focused his eyes back on the fish. Minutes later, the fish were done and Ryu gave one to Kasumi on a stick. It was hot so she waited for it to cool down a little before taking a big bite. She was so hungry she forgot to eat like a lady. Ryu couldn't help but to stare at her, in a pity kind of stare. She caught his stare and paused from eating, but he quickly looked away. Kasumi then wiped her mouth out of embarrassment.

"Thank you, Hayabusa…"

"What for?" He wondered.

"For saving me again, and for the fish…it's delicious."

He didn't respond but studied her from across the fire where he sat. Kasumi wondered why he was looking at her rather long, and he made it obvious this time.

"Is there something on my face?" She asked and began wiping her mouth again, perhaps she missed something.

"You can't go on like this, Kasumi."

"Well, I kind of have no choice…" She casually responded and took another bite of the fish. She had been running for years that this was now her new normal.

"Why don't you come and stay with me when I return to my village tomorrow?"

Kasumi looked at him rather surprised. She gave it a quick thought before responded. "As much as I appreciate your offer, I would have to decline. I don't want to involve your clan into this. What if Hayate send his men to your village…that's like starting a war between our clans."

"What if I tell you, you'll be safe there. I'll make sure of that."

Kasumi sighed warily. "Hayabusa, I just can't..."

"You won't last long out here if you keep going like this. What if next time I wouldn't be able to find you in time? As skilled as you are, they are stronger. You're weakened Kasumi, I can see it…"

Silence briefly settled over them. Kasumi put down her fish as she had suddenly lost her appetite. But kept her gaze on the ground, thinking about what Ryu had just said.

"I won't forgive myself if anything happens to you..." Ryu continued.

"Then release the burden off your shoulders and stop looking for me. I can take care of myself!" She firmly replied, as she didn't like being nagged on. She found it immensely annoying when Ryu's protectiveness was overly displayed.

"I didn't mean to upset you, and this is not the time for you to be stubborn."

"For a guy who doesn't talk much, you sure talk a lot right now." Kasumi blurted out of irritation, but she quickly regretted her poor choice of words.

Ryu then looked down the ground defeated and held his silence. It was hopeless.

Kasumi was cold, tired and her patient was running short so she didn't bother to say anything more either. Awkward silence surrounded the air between them for a good moment. The longer the silence the thicker guilt grew within her. She didn't like being mean to him nor did she want to come out as ungrateful…

"Hayabusa…" Her voice softened. She tried to make eyes contact but he wouldn't look at her. Kasumi decided to talk anyway. "It just wouldn't be right for me to stay in your home. You have a reputation to protect…and plus, I don't think your girlfriend would like the idea…"

Ryu got up, gave her a quick cold glance and walked away. Kasumi now felt stupid for even talking as he completely ignored her. A couple of minutes later, he came back with some logs to build a bigger fire. It wasn't a good idea, as they might be discovered by Hayate's assassins due to the smoke but Ryu would know if they were nearby. It was too cold out and they had no blankets or anything else to keep them warm that it was necessary. At least he was fully clothed while Kasumi only had on a sleeveless white kimono with stockings that barely covered anything.

Kasumi blinked a few times while staring straight at the fire to adjust her sight. The more she tried the blurrier her sight became feeling suddenly a little lightheaded. Her eyes almost fell shut but she forced them open. Ryu observed with a light frown from across the fire. Then her breathing shallowed when her body suddenly staggered backwards. Ryu quickly got up to catch Kasumi before she could hit the ground. Her body had finally given up. He looked at her for a moment, noticing that she barely breathing at all.

"I got you, Kasumi." He ran his hand across her pale cheek before lifting her in his arms.

 **The following morning…**

Kasumi's eyes heavily rolled open. Slowly and reluctantly she began to realize her surroundings. Something didn't feel right because usually she would wake up with her back aching from sleeping on the hard ground. But she awoke to soft sheets and mattress. She had never felt this comfortable and relaxed in a while. It then hit her... Kasumi pushed herself up into a sitting position looking around the room slightly panicking. She thought she had fallen too deep asleep in the forest which was dangerous in her situation.

 _Is this a dream…where am I?_

She looked at her surrounding one more time, then her eyes tracked to her body. She was wearing a different set of clothes and her wounds were all cleaned up. Kasumi tried to remember what had happened or where she was last. She remembered being by the river somewhere in the middle of the rain forest with…

 _Hayabusa…_

"Good, you're awake."

Ryu leaned by the door. He then walked over to Kasumi and knelt down beside her. Kasumi wore a puzzled expression. When he raised his hand to feel her forehead to check her temperature, Kasumi flinched.

"You had a fever, but it seemed like it has calmed down a little." He explained.

"How did I get here...?"

"You fainted, so I brought you to my village." He replied.

She looked away from him and held her silence for a brief moment.

"I guess I owe you an apology…" She said in a low voice.

"For what?"

She looked back at him, "For being stubborn. I've lost count on how many times you have saved me…"

"You don't owe me anything." He quickly replied.

Kasumi sighed, "Why are you doing this?"

He only looked at her questionably. Kasumi figured and explained herself better.

"Why do you keep saving me? What's in it for you?"

"Do I need a reason?" He frowned.

"There's always a reason behind everything we do. You're loyal to the rules and your duties, so why aren't you looking at me the way they all look at me, a traitor."

Ryu breathed out a sigh. "You're still weak, you shouldn't be talking this much. You need to rest to build up your strength.

So he avoided answering her question, even though it annoyed her a little, she didn't want to nag him. It wasn't in his nature to talk about emotions after all, thought Kasumi.

"I'll go prepare something for you to eat. You must be hungry." He said.

"Thank you." She faintly smiled to him.

He got up to leave.

"Hayabusa?"

He turned back and looked at her.

"Um, did you undress me…?" It made her curious since she had new clothes on her.

His eyes grew slightly large. "No, I wouldn't… Momiji did and she took care of your injuries as well."

"Oh, I see. Momiji knows that I'm here then…"

"Don't worry, we can trust her. I'll be right back." Ryu then left the room.

Kasumi let out a soft chuckle, as for a moment there she actually caught Ryu blushed and got a little shy. It wasn't often his face expressed anything besides from his warrior kill mode expressions. She had to admit, it was a cute sight.

Moments later, Ryu came back inside the room with a bowl of soup and something to drink for the Kunoichi. But Kasumi had fallen asleep again. He put the soup on the little table nearby, drew the cover over her shoulders and let Kasumi rest.

Hours later, Kasumi woke up again. The headaches were gone and she felt slightly better, but she didn't want to just lay there and so she decided to get up and took a look around. This was her first time being in Ryu's home. She marched to his living room and looked around a little, because sometimes a home can tell you a lot about a person, like their interests and preferences. The first thing she noticed was how clean and spotless Ryu's home was, so that could mean that he was a tidy person. He was the opposite of her brother for sure thought Kasumi, because Hayate was the messiest person she knew. She looked around a little more, there were a few plants placed on the table and on the floor. They look well taken care off, so Ryu could also be plant lover. But with his busy schedule, she was surprised he even had the time to take care of these plants. Especially the bonsai tree, she had a few of those back home and those were hard to take care of. A comfortable sigh escaped her. Kasumi then walked towards the window to peek out. A smile lit up her face at the sight of Ryu's beautiful little garden. That determined it, Ryu loved gardening. Quite amusing she thought.

It was so quiet in the house. She wondered where Ryu was. Maybe he was in the kitchen as she could hear footsteps and soft noises from that direction. Plus, the delicious aroma filling the entire house making her stomach growls loudly. Kasumi was so hungry she could eat a horse. She then led her feet to the kitchen but it wasn't Ryu that was cooking.

"Um, hello." Kasumi greeted.

"Lady Kasumi, oh good you're finally awake." Momiji smiled.

"No please, just Kasumi."

"Alright, Kasumi." Replied Momiji with another smile. "You must be hungry, and the soup is almost ready."

"Um, where is Hayabusa?" Kasumi was curious since she hadn't seen him in the house.

"He had to go on a quick mission. He asked me to look after you while he was away."

"I see…I hope I'm not bothering you Momiji."

"Not at all." She quickly replied. "You know, when I was treating you last night, I have to say that you got lucky Kasumi. If Master Ryu hadn't brought you back here when he did, you wouldn't last another day out there."

Kasumi was a little surprised of hearing that, as she was so used to being out there that she hadn't realized how much her body had suffered. She didn't have time to stop and worry about herself when her life was on the line every second of the day.

"Thank you for treating me, I feel so much better already." She replied gratefully.

Soon, Momiji served Kasumi the soup with some toast on the side. Something easy for her to digest. Momiji joined her for lunch as well. As they were enjoying their lunch making regular conversation, the loud knocks on the door grabbed both of their attention.

"Just stay here, I'll go see who it is." But by the tone of Momiji's voice made Kasumi a little anxious.

Kasumi hid herself behind the kitchen wall, trying to listen from the distance as who it could be.

"Hayate, how can I help you?" Momiji asked politely once she opened the door.

"I need to speak to Ryu, Is he home?"

"He left on a mission earlier today. Do you want me to take a message?"

Hayate took his time to respond and peeked behind Momiji in a suspicious manner.

"No, it's fine…but why are you in his house?" He straightly asked, almost as if he was interrogating her.

Not that she needed to explain herself thought Momiji but she played along anyway, "I usually come by Master Ryu's house to look after his plants while he's away. Master's orders." She shrugged in a teasing manner. That was actually the truth, as Ryu would often ask her to help look after his plants when he was away on a long mission. Except this time, he asked her to look after Kasumi not the plants.

"Right." Hayate didn't questioned her answer. He quickly peeked inside again with a deeper frown this time.

Momiji expected him to leave already but he was still standing there.

"Is there anything else I can help you with?" Momiji tried to redirect his attention.

He looked back at her. "No, I better get going. Please let Ryu know that I must speak to him as soon as he comes back. It's important."

Momiji nodded, "I will."

They bowed to each other and Hayate disappeared in a blur. Momiji headed back to the kitchen but noticed Kasumi's terrified expression.

"Don't worry, he didn't suspect you're here. Even if he did, there wasn't much Hayate could do within the Hayabusa territory." As reassurance as it sounded, Kasumi couldn't help but feel uneasy.

That night, Kasumi sat in her futon deep in her thought. Momiji had gone home but she would be back tomorrow again to check on her she said. It was dark in the house, only small shoji floor lamps that barely shone were placed on each corners of the room. Outside the wind howls, but the howls sounded more like a scream and rain fell as stone on the rooftop of the house making her uneasy as she sat there with her knees up to her chest in a fetal position. The storm sounded so aggressive and something about it sent chills through her spine. When she was a little girl, she would run to Hayate whenever there was thunder outside, feeling somewhat safer because she knew her brother would protect her from anything. But now she was more afraid of him sending his men to Ryu's house to hurt her.

Something on the table nearby caught her attention. Her nice folded white kimono combat attire that Momiji had washed for her earlier that day. She looked at it for a time.

 **...**

Ryu was soaked and tired after a long mission. Good thing he got Irene and her team to assist him this time so it went quicker than expected. He slid the door to his house open but startled when the auburn haired Kunoichi was in a hurry to get out almost bumping into him. He quickly blocked her and closed the door.

"Hayabusa…" Kasumi said, startled as well.

He gazed at her up and down with a frown. She was wearing her white kimono dress again with her Wakizashi sword tied to her back.

"Where are you going?"

"I'm leaving." She tried to walk around him but his arm reached to the side to block and sent her back a few steps.

"Don't this Kasumi…just stay."

"I can't, please let me go."

His arms fell heavily to the side with a sigh, getting rather annoyed. "You're not going anywhere." He firmly told her.

"Watch me." Kasumi was also determined. But he once again blocked her.

"And where exactly are going to go in this weather? You're not ready to head out there."

She looked up at him. "Hayate was here earlier…he might come back and I don't want to get you or Momiji in trouble. You're already too involved in this."

"Hayate is not a threat as long as I'm here. Stay at least for a couple more days and then leave if you want."

"What does it matter in a few days? And why do you want to keep me here so badly anyway?" Her voice raised a notch, frustrated at Ryu being too overprotective, as she didn't need to be babysit by him all the time.

He looked at her dead on, "Because I'm tired…"

Kasumi frowned at Ryu strangely...

"If you're here then I know you're safe, but out there sometimes I feared that I wouldn't make it to you in time and one day I would find you lying dead somewhere. You're not really that easy to track down Kasumi…so please, stay."

She looked down to the floor holding back her tears. Ryu was begging, and he never begged, thought Kasumi. He must be feeling desperate that it was quite pitiful to her listening to a super ninja his caliber beg. She didn't know how to feel about that. But she too was tired of running so she understood where he was coming from. Now she felt even more like a burden. But Ryu wouldn't back down so what other choices did she have…

Ryu raised his hand wanting to wipe a tear that had escaped her sadden eye but he hesitated and let his hand fall back to the side. She quickly wiped her tears with the back of her hand. Then her eyes tracked to Ryu's body. He had gotten a few cuts on him.

"Your arm…" She said.

He looked at it, "It's nothing."

"You're going to need stitching on that… let me help you before it gets infected."

Ryu looked at her for a moment before responding, "Okay."

While Ryu went to get a towel to dry himself off, Kasumi went to get the first aid kit. In his room, Ryu sat down on his futon and then took his top off. Kasumi stood in the doorway a little awkward suddenly looking at his perfect muscular shaped. Kasumi had to admit that Ryu had a body structure of a god. She snapped out of it, she marched over to him and then began treating his wound. It must have been a tough mission as he had ugly cuts everywhere. But it wasn't surprising to Kasumi, as this was part of being a shinobi. When she got to the stitching part, Ryu hardly flinch nor react, as he was probably used to it. While Kasumi was focusing on the wound, she caught him stare at her but when she looked back at him, he looked away. It made her heart stir for some reason. Not many words were exchanged between them, but that was typical their relationship. When they both had a lot to say, usually because they were arguing. Otherwise it was silence with them. The sudden loud sound of thunder made Kasumi almost jumped up from where she sat, startling the heck out of her.

"It's just thunder…" Ryu said.

"Yeah, but I hate it. It sounded so violence…"

Ryu couldn't help but smile, the smile almost looked as if he was making fun of her.

"Glad you find it amusing, but if you were in my situation you too would…" She paused from talking since he only looked confused at her.

"Never mind, of course Mr. Super Ninja is not afraid of anything." Slightly rolling her eyes.

"You'd be surprise." He replied.

It made Kasumi curious. "You're actually afraid of something…?" How interesting she thought. "What are you afraid of, Hayabusa?"

Ryu sighed, "You will laugh at me."

"I won't, I promise…so tell me." Now she was even more curious.

Another sigh escaped Ryu, "Alright…" He hesitated. "Since you promised. I'm…well, I'm afraid of spiders. I hate them." He actually made grimace as he said it.

He looked at her and Kasumi was trying so hard to keep the laughter inside that her face turned red. He kept on looking at her feeling a little embarrassed now. Then Kasumi suddenly burst out laughing and lost focus on what she was doing. Ryu however didn't find it amusing at all.

"I'm really sorry Hayabusa, that was just too funny…"

"Clearly, you don't take your promise seriously. I can do this by myself." He was annoyed and insulted.

It was cute she thought. "No, please don't get mad. I will stop laughing." She collected herself and continued with what she was doing. The giggling was still there but she managed to get it under control.

Though Ryu had to admit, it was refreshing for him to see Kasumi being her silly self and laugh for a brief moment even if it was at his expense.

"It's foolish I know…" He was still embarrassed.

Kasumi felt a little guilty. He decided to share something so personal and she burst out laughing at him. So she needed to make it up somehow.

"It's not foolish at all, it called irrational fear. I mean we all have one. Though I don't know if being afraid of thunder counts as irrational fear… and did you know that Hayate is terrified of sharks? He used to think that sharks live in the bathtub and so bath time was a nightmare for our parents when he was younger."

Ryu frowned strangely, "But sharks are scary…"

"True..." Kasumi kept her eyes on his arm.

A comfortable silence surrounded the air between them. This was probably the nicest conversation they ever had with each other. She appreciated it. It showed another side of Ryu she never knew existed. He had this calmness to him that made her feel truly comfortable being around him.

There was nothing left for them to say, which seemed appropriate at that moment as she needed to focus on the stitching.

Kasumi then caught him looking at her again the way he did the first time, but this time he didn't removed his eyes when she looked back at him. Suddenly, his hand slowly reached forward, gently pushing a few stray of her hair back into place. Kasumi was a little confuse with why Hayabusa was being a little touchy. Still, she didn't lose focus and kept on with what she was doing. He let his hand linger before then caressing her cheek. She responded by not moving away but let these intimate touches continue. His touch left her feeling at ease, trusting and safe.

Ryu didn't know what got into him. But right now he wanted to kiss her with every fiber of his being. Little did he know, she wanted that every bit as much as he did. Kasumi looked into his eyes and saw his desire for her.

"All done." She said in a low whisper.

She just realized that Ryu had leaned forward, reaching for her lips. It made her a little nervous being this close to him. She responded by reaching her hand to his mouth to stop him. But her finger instead lingered tracing across his lips. They looked so tempting…but it wasn't right.

"We shouldn't, your girlfriend…" She whispered.

"She's not my girlfriend." He responded cutting her off.

That came as a surprise to Kasumi because she had seen how they were around each other. Kasumi would get a little jealous when Irene was around. How she would flirt with Ryu and cling to him. It shouldn't bother her but it did. As much as Kasumi wanted to dislike the woman, she just couldn't, as she could see why Ryu would fall for her. Irene had this western exotic beauty and confident to her that no men could resist.

Ryu tilted his head slightly to the side and leaned toward her imperceptibly. She did the same. She closed her eyes as their lips touched for the first time. His lips felt warm and soft to her. His lower lip slipped briefly between hers before they pulled slowly back from each other. They looked into each other's eyes again momentarily. Then their lips touched again, this time with more urgency and passion. A feeling of sexual excitement began to rise in both of them. Ryu pulled her body closer to him while Kasumi locked her arms around his strong neck. He laid her down and they continued to kiss for several more minutes before they would take it to another level.

The next morning…

Ryu awoke to the sun blended his eyes. Then a soft growl escaped him when he moved his body feeling the aching scratches on his back that was caused by the auburn haired beauty. It finally hit him what had happened. Things got a little rough between them last night, not that he complained. He turned to the side expecting her to be next to him but it was empty. He pushed himself up into a sitting position to look around the room. Her clothes and katana were gone and he couldn't sense her nearby. Ryu let out a deep sigh in annoyance and let his body fall back on the mattress.

 _So stubborn…_ to him Kasumi was the living breathing definition of the word stubborn.

 **~End of flashback~**


	10. Chapter 10

Kasumi tied her sneakers and headed out into a cloudy late afternoon for a run. Tenzou was still in the kindergarten but she would pick him up on the way back from her run. She had taken a well-deserved two days off work, so Kasumi took the opportunity to do a little training and spent more quality time with her son. She started off the run with a slow pace to warm up her muscles, and then raised the speed once she got into the right rhythm. While running, a lot of thing ran through her mind, but mainly Ryu. It was rather odd to her that he hadn't come back to the city as she was expecting to see him again... even Hayate hadn't had any contact with him when she had asked. Kasumi didn't quite know what to think.

On top of that, there was another issue she came to face this week. Tenzou's kindergarten teacher had complained to her about his recent behavior. Her son had been acting aggressively towards other children in the kindergarten. At first, Kasumi thought that it was the typical kid's behavior where they had argued about toys or something of that nature, but from what his teacher had told her, he had been violently hitting the other kids until they started to cry. This was out of her son's character. Beside from the massive tantrum she once experienced, she hadn't seen Tenzou acting aggressively towards her or anybody else. When they visited the Mugen Tenshin last week, he seemed to get along just fine with the village kids. So she didn't know what exactly was going on with her son...but whatever it was, she needed to get to the bottom of it before he got out of hand.

Then she thought back at the conversation she had with Hayate. What her brother said really strike a deep chord. Her feet paused from running. Kasumi took out her phone from the kangaroo pocket of her hoody jacket and dialed Takeshi's number. No answer, only the voicemail. She decided to leave him a message. Right afterwards, Kasumi continued running for another five miles. Once she reached her five-mile mark, she turned back and headed towards the kindergarten as it was time to pick up Tenzou.

Once at the kindergarten, Kasumi was expecting an excited Tenzou running up to her with his arms wide open to give her a big hug as he usually would. But instead, he was rather quiet and seemingly looking upset. Kasumi was once again pulled aside by his teacher for the briefing of Tenzou's day. She said that he had missed out on a lot of activities for that day because he kept misbehaving and was sent to the time-out corner a few times. Kasumi was sad and disappointed to hear that.

The walk home was quiet. Tenzou was kicking the small stones as he was walking with his gaze lowered to the ground the entire time. Anger was his expression. He didn't even want to hold Kasumi's hand and had kept a slight distance from her. Usually, he would nag his mother to carry him and he would talk and talk all the way home until Kasumi got tired of listening to him as her son had too much energy where she sometimes struggled to keep up with, and therefore his silence was odd to her.

It was a chilly day. "Hey, what do you say we go get hot chocolate and doughnuts?" She decided to try and cheer him up. Tenzou lightly shook his head but kept his eyes to the ground.

"Okay, how about we stop by the playground?" She tried again, as the playground in the city park nearby was his favorite place to go and play. It didn't work either since he gave her no sign of reaction.

"How about, we buy some bread and go feed the pigeons at the park, you love that don't you?" This time she was certain Tenzou wouldn't be able to say no, as that had become their daily rituals on their way home from kindergarten.

Much to her disappointment, Tenzou was still not giving her any reaction. But she wasn't ready to give up. Kasumi then paused from walking and touched Tenzou briefly on his shoulder signing him to paused for a moment.

"What's wrong? You can tell me." She asked, bending down so she was looking right into Tenzou's eyes. But he refused to look at her and determined to keep his silence. If anything he looked rather annoyed by his mother's nag. Sighing hopelessly, Kasumi left him alone for now and nothing she suggested seemed to work, and so they headed straight home.

During dinner, Tenzou ate his meal in silence. It might look as he was just behaving nicely but to Kasumi and knowing her son, his calmness was again strange. Clearly, something was eating him up. No three-year-old would have this sudden change of demeanor without a good reason.

Back at the Mugen Tenshin, Kasumi had asked her mother of why she would still love and accepted her after all the troubles she had caused, and then abandoning the village to live a different lifestyle free from the shinobi rules and duties. Ayame had replied, " _My love for my children was never conditional or time limited, it has no expiry date. I want you, Hayate and Ayane to know that I would always love the three of you no matter what you choose to do in life…"_ and that was the kind of mother Kasumi inspired to be, that no matter what her son was going through or done, she will ride with him until the wheel fall off.

"Did you do anything fun in the kindergarten today?" Kasumi casually asked with a smile, hoping he would finally talk to her again. He hadn't said a single word since she picked him up from the kindergarten.

He only shook his head.

Kasumi frowned curiously, "Why not?"

Still no response. Kasumi felt hopeless.

"I don't like going there anymore…" He suddenly mumbled in a low voice, refusing to look at his mother when talking. Though Kasumi was glad to hear his sweet voice again.

"But I thought you love it there, what happened?"

"They're mean to me mama..."

Her frown deepened, "Who is mean to you?"

"The other kids, they said I have scary eyes and they laughed at me…" His expression changed from sad to anger. All of sudden, he slammed his spoon on the table, startling Kasumi and then curled his fingers into a fist.

"So I showed them!" He said proudly with his eyebrows drawn closely together looking like he was ready to hurt someone.

Kasumi paused from eating when an unexpected image of Ryu flashed through her mind as she looked at her son. Her breath all tangled in her throat looking at Tenzou's striking resemblance to Ryu's warrior kill mode expression… It broke her heart to hear what he had just told her. He was too young to comprehend any of it. She may not like hearing him being made fun of for his unique eyes color, but she didn't want him to become aggressive and hitting other children. That was not how she wanted to raise him, making him think that violence was the way to deal with his problems.

He'd gotten a scraped cheek from the fight. Someone must have fought him back and caused it. Kasumi reached across the table and touched his face.

"I understand that it makes you mad when they tease you. However, it's not okay to hit others. That will only get you into more trouble."

Tenzou looked at her confused.

"Remember what uncle Hayate said about Karate? That you're only allow to use those moves as self-defense, that means if someone is physically attacking you. Do you understand what I'm trying to say?"

He lowered his head and gaze back down at his plate. Another silence surrounded the table. Kasumi didn't know what else to say to him.

Kasumi then smiled, "Someday someone will appreciate those unique green eyes and true friends will accept you for who you are." She tried to lift his spirit up a little.

Her words suddenly lightened up his little face. "You mean someone like Momoi?"

Kasumi looked a little curious, "Who's Momoi?"

"She's my friend. She said my eyes are cool like the forest."

Kasumi couldn't help but smiled warmly, a little amused as well as she now remembered who Momoi was. A four-year-old girl who played with Tenzou when they were at the Mugen Tenshin. Then on their way back to Tokyo, she noticed that Tenzou didn't bring his favorite new teddy bear Ryu back with him. When she had asked, he said he gave it to someone he liked.

Tenzou didn't seem to be so upset anymore, and he went back to his bubbly self. He also promised his mother that he wouldn't hit the other kids in kindergarten. Kasumi plan on talking to his teacher about what he had told her so the teacher would pay more attention if it happens again.

The doorbell rang.

 _He got here fast…_ Kasumi hurried to open the door.

"Hitomi…" Kasumi greeted in surprised, as it wasn't who she was really expected. "What brings you here?" She then wondered curiously.

"I'm sorry to show up like this…" Hitomi hesitated a little before continue. "Hayate said that you were his sister, and so I was wondering if you maybe know how I could get a hold of him?"

Kasumi felt rather bad now since Hayate had made it clear that he didn't want to get involve or see Hitomi again. But it wasn't her place to tell Hitomi anything, just in case her brother would change his mind later on. Even if she wanted to tell where her brother was, Hitomi was a regular civilian and Kasumi couldn't risk telling her where the Mugen Tenshin was located, exposing her clan to a stranger. Only few trustworthy people knew of their existence.

"Hitomi, I don't quite know how to tell you this but…"

"I know you guys are ninjas and that Hayate lives somewhere far in the forest." Hitomi then sighed, as she figured that Kasumi couldn't give her any information.

Kasumi's eyes widened, "Hayate told you about us…?" What the hell was her brother thinking telling Hitomi about their existence. Even Takeshi didn't know her true identity. Hayate must really trust this girl, she thought silently.

But Hitomi read Kasumi's mind through her concern expression. "Don't worry, your secret is safe with me." She assured with a smile. "Anyway, I figured it was a long shot but I thought I gave it a try since he was in the city the last time I saw him…"

"Well, Hayate sometimes comes by to visit us, but he doesn't often let me know when he comes to the city. When I see him next time, I will let him know that you were looking for him." That was the best deal she could give.

"That would be nice. I guess I better get going…and thank you for your time." Hitomi smiled and bowed. Kasumi responded the same.

Later that evening as Kasumi was preparing a little evening snacks for Tenzou, she was starting to wonder if Takeshi had seen the message she sent him… and if he did, he might be ignoring her. Though she wouldn't blame him if that was the case as he had all the right to be mad with her. After all, she had been ignoring his calls and texts for the last couple of weeks. Letting out a disappointed sigh, Kasumi marched back out to the living room with a bowl of cut-up banana and apples for Tenzou whose eyes were locked on the TV screen watching cartoons. Thirty-minute left before she would start nagging him to get ready for bed. Hopefully this time he would just obey nicely and make bedtime a little easier than usual as she was already getting sleepy. That way they both could get a good night sleep. In the meantime, Kasumi laid herself down on the couch watching cartoons with her son. Only seconds later, her honey brown eyes suddenly closed but then she heavily forced them open again repeatedly, struggling to keep herself awake. Before Kasumi knew it, everything became a blur and she was fast asleep.

Once Tenzou was done with eating his snacks, he climbed down from the couch and put the bowl on the table. Then he marched to his mother and peeked at her closely. His finger gently poking Kasumi's shoulder up and down while he whispered, "Mama…" repeatedly to wake her up. But no reaction nor movement. She had fallen too deep asleep. Tenzou glared at her for a moment, then went and grabbed the blanket nearby to cover his mother. "Good night, mama." Next he took his empty fruit bowl and walked to the kitchen with it. The sink was a little high for him, so he placed the bowl on a table instead before he went back out of the kitchen.

Kasumi woke up and sat up on the couch in panic looking around the living room for Tenzou, but he was nowhere in sight. She gazed at the clock on the wall, _Damn it…_ she hadn't realized that she had fallen asleep and had been sleeping for almost two hours even though it felt like seconds to her. The TV was still on.

 _Oh no, Tenzou…_ How could she just fall asleep so recklessly? Kasumi asked herself in annoyance. She quickly shoved the blanket off her, then turned off the TV and hurried toward Tenzou's bedroom hoping to find him there. Kasumi breathed out a sigh of relief when she saw Tenzou sleeping soundlessly in his bed. Her shoulder leaned against his bedroom door as she gazed toward her son, smiling like any proud mother would.

Suddenly, the doorbell rang startling the heck out of Kasumi. She gently closed the bedroom door and then hurried toward the front door to see who it could be. After a quick look through the peek hole, she opened it.

"Sorry I couldn't come sooner, I just got back in town but I hurried here once I saw your message."

"It's fine, I'm just glad to see you." She leaned in to hug Takeshi. He eagerly responded, but neither of them wanted to let go, so they stayed like that for a moment.

"I've missed you," He whispered.

"I've missed you too," She responded.

Kasumi retreated first and invited Takeshi inside the apartment. She briefly studied his appearance, he looked tired and he was wearing his work suit. They went to the living room.

"Have you been out of town?" Kasumi asked.

He nodded light, "Business trip..."

"You didn't have to come straight away you know, if you're tired and such."

"You're being rather considerate." He said in a flat voice. Though Kasumi wasn't sure if he was being a tease or sarcastic. He noticed her frown. "Since you have been completely ignoring me after that night..."

"There's a reason for that…" Kasumi sighed. "Um, do you want tea or…"

He ignored her small talk. "Kasumi, why am I here?"

She didn't respond right away which made Takeshi anxious.

"Is this about that night?" He began, trying to figure the reason she wanted to talk to him. "I know we agreed on taking things slow, but…" They had gotten intimate again that night, and he thought that was the reason Kasumi had kept her distance.

"This is not about that, if anything it was amazing." She replied.

This was it, Kasumi had thought about it and it was time to be completely honest. They would never go forward unless she put everything out there. Takeshi deserved the truth. She didn't want to waste any more of his time, so with a deep breath Kasumi began to spill everything. Who she truly was before she met him. A Kunoichi. She figured that none of that would matter because it was her past, therefore she trusted him enough to finally let him know. Kasumi briefly talked about her family, that she was once a rouge shinobi. Takeshi had never known who her parents were. She had lied to him about them. That she didn't have any relationship with her parents nor siblings, except for Hayate who Takeshi had met a few times. That was the truth at the time, as she didn't have the best relation to her family.

He stood frozen as he listened to every word she was saying, but Kasumi wasn't done. She needed to let it all out before her courage deserted her. There was one more detail left.

"And that guy, who showed up at my door in the middle of the night… he was Tenzou's father." She swallowed a huge clump of fear after she said it. There, everything was now on the table.

A long silence settled over them. Takeshi wore a blank expression, perhaps he was in shock, thought Kasumi. But she wanted the silence to end as it felt like decades to her making her more anxious.

"Please say something…" She softly pleaded.

Takeshi ran his hands down his weary face, trying to let it all sink in. Hearing about Ryu being Tenzou's biological father wasn't bothering him, as Kasumi was already pregnant when he met her. She had been honest about her pregnancy since the very beginning, and that was also the reason she couldn't date him at the time. He accepted it all, and he was happy to be a father figure to her child. He raised and consider Tenzou as his own for these past three years. Kasumi never really told him anything about Ryu, only that he wasn't going to be in the picture.

"What did he want…?" He asked in a monotone voice.

His calmness bothered her, but Kasumi didn't know what to expect either. "He wanted to know if Tenzou was his. But I couldn't tell him, deep down I didn't want him to know because nothing good would come out of him knowing about Tenzou. You know the rest, he left. I haven't heard from him since then…"

"I see…" He let out a deep sigh, "Is he a bad guy? Is there a reason you don't want him around Tenzou?" He looked somewhat irritated at her as he asked the question.

She wanted to be honest and so she would answer anything that need to be answered.

"No. He's not a bad guy…in fact, without him, I wouldn't be here today."

Takeshi frowned, "Then why wouldn't you want him to know that he has a son...? I saw the anger in his eyes that night. I'm assuming he wouldn't mind to know if he had a son."

"I had no choice Takeshi! I had to protect Tenzou."

"Protect him from what?" His voice suddenly became a little rougher. The tension rose up, and Kasumi was beginning to feel the pressure.

"From that world. If people knew who Tenzou's biological father was, a great demanding task will be put on him. I didn't want him to follow that dark path. I wanted him to have a choice for a better life…" Her voice then softened, "A normal life…"

Another silence fell between them. Takeshi placed both his hands behind his neck and breathe out a frustrated sigh. But then he smiled, slowly his smile turned into chuckles and then into a ridiculous soft laughter.

Kasumi frowned at him, getting a little irritated herself as nothing about this was funny to her.

"Tell me Kasumi, are you delusional?"

Her eyes grew wide, "What…?"

"Do I seriously look like an idiot to you?" He continued.

"No, of course not. Why are you saying that…?" She was rather confused and insulted at the same time.

"I don't care about that guy. I knew what I got myself into when I marry you. He might be Tenzou's biological father, but I'm the one who has been there since day one." He continued.

"And I'm not trying to take that away from you…" Kasumi cut in.

"You should have stopped there, but you just had put a lie on top of another lie…"

"What lie? I wasn't…" She cut in again but Takeshi wouldn't have it.

"Do you seriously want me to believe that you're a ninja? That there were assassins used to chasing you around trying to kill you? And that Tenzou belongs to some kind future leader of a clan… I would have believed this three hundred years ago. This sounded like something from a movie scene, not real life." He looked amused at her, like she was a big joke.

Kasumi was stunned. Tears began forming on the corner of her eyes as she began to realize that this conversation was taking a different turn, for the worse. She knew it was a long shot but she thought his love for her was strong enough that he would believe her.

"If you want to get rid of me that badly then all you need to do was say it's over. Do you even know what you want?"

"I want for us to be a family again, to let the past be the past…that's what I want." She replied disappointed. Then she felt warm tears dribbled down her cheek.

He looked at her, unmoved by her spilling tears. "I can't deal with this anymore Kasumi. I've only been putting up with you because of my…Tenzou."

Kasumi felt something squeezed in her stomach like cramps, then Kasumi wiped her tears with the back of her hand and looked at him. She didn't know what to say to him at this point, his words were tearing her heart.

"I don't know what was it at first, why you were so afraid of love. But now I don't think that you're afraid, but that you're just simply selfish."

The softer he spoke the harsher those words sounded to her ears. _Selfish…_ she couldn't seem to escape that word.

"Takeshi…" The way she said his name sounded more like a plead.

He didn't want to be there anymore and he didn't want to even hear it anymore. "I was offered another position in another city. At first, I wanted to turn it down so I wouldn't be too far away from you and Tenzou. But now I might reconsider it…"

Kasumi couldn't keep the tears from running down her cheek, "Why are you talking like this…and what about Tenzou? You can't do this to him again!"

He didn't respond to that. She could see it in his eyes how much this hurt him too, so she didn't understand why he was saying the thing he was saying.

"I'm sorry, but I have to go." He turned away and marched towards the door. He looked like he was holding back his tears.

Kasumi rushed to him, "Takeshi, please don't do this. We can still fix this…" she had never sounded so desperate in her entire life.

He turned to her for the final time, "There is no point to keep on dragging this…I'm sorry." Just like that he left and closed the door behind him, leaving Kasumi sobbing by the door.

The clock suddenly stopped ticking and it was complete silence. She could hear her heartbeat racing. This felt different to her, they had fought before and he had left during arguments. Even when he left after their divorce, she knew that it wasn't completely over between them. But this time, it felt as it was truly over. He wouldn't come back even if she had begged. She wanted to make things right, but it backfired. Anger began to rise toward herself, maybe if she would just have kept her mouth shut, he wouldn't have left. It slowly started to sink in as she stood there, how much she was still in love with the man…her feet wouldn't move, her stomach clenched in a funny way. It hurt so bad. Kasumi fell to her knees and began crying hysterically. She tried to keep her sobs low because she wouldn't want Tenzou to wake up and see her like this.

"Mama…?"

Kasumi's eyes grew wide and her chest felt heavy at the sound of her son's voice calling her. She quickly wiped all her tears with the back of her hands, collected herself and then rose back up to her feet. When she turned, Tenzou was standing in the middle of the hallway looking at her in a concern expression. She didn't know how long he had been awake.

"Why are you sad, mama? I can help you…" He said softly with a deep frown, unaware of what was going on. He had interpreted that when someone was sad, it was because they needed help.

She rushed to him and lowered down to his level. "I'm okay baby, don't worry okay." She forced a smile.

Suddenly, his hand reached forward and wipe the rest of his mother's remaining tears, and then he gave Kasumi a big hug. She held him tightly and whispered, "I'm so sorry…" when tremendous guilt washed over her, realizing that her son was the one who will be hurt the most out of this. All she wanted to do was to protect him, but now she was the one who keep hurting him. Kasumi felt like a failure as a mother.

 **New York**

 **One week later…**

 _Another cold lonely morning…_ Irene had woken up to Ryu's side of bed empty again. She missed his muscular arm wrapped around her every morning, she even missed his scent…that was how far distanced her husband had become these past weeks. Irene shifted with a sigh, then flipped her pillow to the cool side and kept on thinking. _What is going on with him…?_ She asked herself as she laid there wondering and asking herself question after question. At first Irene thought that Ryu needed a little space, but now she wasn't sure that was the case anymore. She kept telling herself that things weren't slowly going wrong with them, that it was just her imaginations. She then glanced at the digital clock on the little table next to the bed that displayed the date, time and temperature. It was time to get ready for work. Both her and Ryu had been working way too much where they once again hardly had any time for each other.

 **Later that evening** …

Ryu got home tired and hungry after a long day. But as usual, he would eat dinner by himself. Sometimes he wished he could come home to his wife's cooking or that she greeted him with a kiss. He was beginning to feel slightly lonely in this marriage. He admitted that he was perhaps a little old fashion type of husband, and despite him understanding Irene's demanding profession. Exhausted, Ryu marched to his living room to relax a little. He still had his coat on. He then unzipped his coat and tossed it on the couch. Irene would usually nag him about it, but she wasn't home so he didn't care.

"I thought I heard someone,"

Startled at the voice, Ryu turned to see.

"Irene? What are you doing home this hour?" Frowning, trailing his eyes at the apron she was wearing.

"Yeah, I think I should stop overworking and start coming home earlier. I hate that we hardly have any time for each other." She responded. Then Irene tilted her head slightly and looked behind Ryu, with a gentle sigh she hurried toward the couch, took Ryu's coat and hang it by the door where it was supposed to be. Then Irene marched back to Ryu to give him a kiss. But he hardly responded much.

"You don't seem happy to see me…" She teased.

"I am." He replied in a flat voice.

"Well, dinner is almost ready." Irene smiled and hurried back to the kitchen to check on the dinner before she burned down her kitchen.

Ryu still just standing there, unmoving, looking at Irene disappeared toward the kitchen.

Soon after, Irene served dinner.

After eating for a while they still hadn't said anything to each other. The only sound was their forks and knives on the plate. Irene studied Ryu from across the table. She was expecting a compliment, or that he would say that the food tasted good, but nothing. More minutes had passed and the silence was starting to annoy her.

"Irene, is something wrong with your car?" Ryu asked out of the blue.

"No, why?"

"Then why has someone been picking and dropping you off work for the past few weeks…" He frowned at her.

"Oh, that…well he's a co-worker. We were assigned on an undercover mission to play a couple. It would look more believable if we arrive together." She casually responded.

Somehow Ryu didn't like it, but it wasn't anything he could say as it was her work. He would have just sounded like a jealous insecure husband.

"Why haven't you told me..."

This time, Irene couldn't help but role her eyes when Ryu wasn't looking, "No offence Ryu, but you're not that approachable lately. So I didn't think you'd care." It came out a little harsh, but it was just her frustration slowly began playing out.

Another silence. Irene stopped from eating and leaned back on her chair staring at Ryu.

"What?" He asked.

"Is it me? Because lately, you seem like you don't like being around me…what is going on with you?"

Ryu only sighed and continued on eating, which ticked Irene off.

"Why is it always silence with you?" Her voice raised a notch out of frustration, desperate trying to understand why her husband had distanced himself and was cold toward her. She had been ignoring it, telling herself it would pass and that it wasn't her.

"I don't want to argue." Ryu responded.

"But sometimes we have to argue to get pass the problems, not talking about it would only make things worse."

"Irene, not tonight." He looked at her strict, a look that said back off.

That really put her off even more, and this was how Ryu would talk to a stranger not to her. "What is so important that you can't even talk to me about?"

He gave her no answer but to stare at his plate looking aloof or angry. She wasn't sure what to make of his expression.

"If I'm not wrong, it looks like you have gone back to your old self."

That statement made him look back at her but still held his silence.

"Blank expressions, hardly talk, three-word answer…and cold." She knew she sounded mean, but deep down she wanted to provoke. The truth, she was hurt inside and desperate for answers to her worries.

"If you truly want to talk," Ryu replied.

"I have been thinking…" He began but paused briefly while he re-think the placement of his words. He then proceeded, "No, I have decided to go back and continue fulfilling my duties so I can one day lead my clan. I've taken a long enough break."

Irene had an idea that it was about that. She had dreaded to the day, and therefore she wasn't at all surprised to what he had just told her. But what annoyed her was how flat and cold the way he was telling her, as if he wasn't concern how she would feel about it. He wasn't even asking about what she thought about it since he had already made the decision. It was his decision to make but as a married couple it would be nice if he could have at least included her in the decision making process. She too had thought about it for a long time, and even though he wasn't asking for her opinion, she would still give it.

"Well, I want you to know that I respect and fully support your decision to go back to your main job as a shinobi."

Ryu frowned, "Just like that?"

"What else did you expect me to say? The only down side to this is that you will be gone a lot more, it sucks but we will make it work." She shrugged with a sigh.

"I suppose…" Ryu responded in a low voice but not in so convincing tone.

"That's it?" Irene chuckled, "You have been so bothered and had distanced yourself from me over that? Maybe you should trust me a little more…" She teased, trying somehow to light up their tension.

"Trust…" He suddenly muttered, "Such a dangerous word."

Irene looked puzzled to why Ryu was mumbling to himself. Then she looked at his hand on the table that was slowly curling into a fist.

"I went to see Kasumi." He blurted.

The pit of her stomach felt cramped. Irene had suddenly lost her appetite and that felt like a knife through her chest. "Why am I not surprised?"

"Irene…" He tried to say something but Irene slammed a hand on the table when pure irritation sliced through her.

"I don't care if you went to see her, but it pisses me off when you said that you wouldn't and then you still did it behind my back. What is it with you and that girl?" Anger rose from her voice. Suddenly something suspicious crossed her mind… as why would Ryu mention Kasumi, she wondered. Did he sleep with her? Was that why? As what else would he even brought it up unless something had happened. She couldn't help but get paranoid.

"Ryu, please tell me you didn't…"

"No, it's not like that." He quickly replied. But then he frowned, "Is that the kind of guy you think I am?"

"Of course not, but…"

"But what? When in four years have I ever make you feel like you couldn't trust me?" He was insulted and became defensive.

Somewhat that annoyed Irene, "Then tell me that you've never slept with her in the past?"

Her woman instinct sometimes told her that more had happened between them. Irene had seen how Kasumi looked at Ryu, and how he had looked at her. Irene wasn't an insecure woman, so she didn't quite know why just hearing Kasumi's name made her so insecure. Perhaps due to the power Kasumi had over Ryu at the time. Funny, she thought, as Kasumi hadn't even realized it that she could snap her finger and Ryu would come running. It was obvious to her that Kasumi was in love with him, but something was holding her back from reacting on her desire. She wondered if Kasumi hadn't held back, would he have chosen to be with Kasumi instead? Irene despised herself for doubting his love for her.

Ryu kept his gaze down at the table and not responding to her question. Her gut squeezed into a knot as his silence just confirmed that he did sleep with Kasumi at some point. Irene tried to keep it together as much as she could.

"When…?" She dared and asked.

"About four years ago, three months before I moved here." He gave her the clearest answer he could remember, because otherwise Irene wouldn't be satisfied and would go all CIA on him until she got the more detailed answer. He knew her well enough.

"That's the only time?"

He nodded lightly.

"So you went to see someone that you've slept with in the past behind my back, and I'm supposed to believe that nothing happened this time? There must be a reason to why you wanted to see her again."

"For the simple fact to see if she was okay and nothing else." He replied honestly. But Irene made a disgusted sound to that, as she didn't believe him. It was suddenly hard for her to believe him.

"Babysitting days for Hayate is over Ryu, but you just can't let her go can you…"

Ryu didn't appreciate his wife's mockery, though he understood her anger and let it slide.

"Were you in love with her?"

"No, I don't think I was. I don't know what I felt for her…" He sighed.

"You don't think?" Irene made disgusted kind of sound, "Great…"

They were suddenly talking in calmer tone.

In the back of Irene's mind, she began doing a little math. "Ryu…you and I were already together and being intimate at the time. You basically cheated on me." Her breathing increased at the thought that was slowly tearing her heart and making her angrier. Tears began rolling down her cheek, thinking that this wasn't happening to her right now.

Ryu didn't know how to explain himself, and somehow he didn't feel like explaining himself.

"Then why?" Irene shook her head upset to her core. "Why did you play me like that? Why are you even bringing the past now? Just to hurt me, to hurt us?"

Ryu rubbed his eyes, and then scraped his hands down his weary face.

"I guess we're even now…" He suddenly said. His voice was low and toneless. He wasn't the type who would raise his voice no matter how angry or frustrated he would get.

"What are you talking about now?" Irene wondered, getting fed up with Ryu at this point. Nothing seemed to make sense to her. Ryu's demeanor, as if he didn't care how upset she was. It wasn't affecting him in the slightest. She was still puzzled with why he had brought Kasumi into their conversation. If everything was in the past and he didn't sleep with her the last time he was in Japan, then why are they even talking about her now… Irene wondered to herself.

Ryu took a deep breath, as they were about to have a very long evening. He leaned back on his chair and looked at his wife dead-on.

"You wouldn't betray me right, Irene?"

His stare gave her chills, in a not so pleasant way and confusion was registered on her face, Ryu was being really strange tonight. At this point she just wanted the conversation to end.

"Why would you even ask me that? You know, you're acting really stran…"

"I know about you and Hayate." He angrily interrupted.


	11. Chapter 11

Irene was caught off guard. Her eyes wide and shocked. Her face turned white as sheet wondering how did Ryu find out. The overwhelming intensity in his emerald eyes staring straight at her. The fearful feeling of everything she had built and loved for the past four years was about to crumble down in seconds.

"Did you sleep with him?" He asked.

His eyes were cold like she'd never seen toward her before. Even though he had asked her a question, she had a funny feeling that he'd already known the answer. He didn't frown even slightly when asking question but wore a stern expression. As if he was testing her response. She knew the interrogating game too well and just like Ryu, she too could read body language almost perfectly.

"Ryu…" Her tone sounded like a plead.

"Either tell me a yes or tell me a no. But don't insult me." He demanded.

Irene couldn't bring herself to tell him anything. The only response she gave was the tears that dribbled down her warm cheek.

"It wouldn't change anything no matter what I tell you…" She then replied.

"Perhaps it won't, but I'm intrigue to know how the two people that I trust and love the most in this world decided to play me for a fool."

She wondered if Hayate had said anything to Ryu. It was unlikely, but right now she didn't know what to believe.

"H-how did you…?" Irene dared and asked how he knew.

He took his time to answer, "I heard the two of you talking that night…"

Irene looked at him wide-eyed. Ryu was referring to the night when she was helping Hayate stitched the wound on his arm. She had forgotten that Ryu's hearing ability was sharper than any other regular human being.

"When I woke up that morning, I couldn't tell whether I was dreaming or that I actually heard the conversation. But deep down I knew it wasn't a dream…" Ryu had deluded himself and gone into denial after that morning, until he saw Hayate again back at the Mugen Tenshin. He had to restrain himself from punching Hayate in front of the villagers.

He'd never thought in a million years that he would have this conversation with his wife. He then thought of Kasumi of how she too had betrayed him by keeping his son a secret. At this point, nothing would surprise him anymore. There was no one he could trust. He had wandered around New York city day and night for weeks, thinking and searching for answers. Everything was such a mess in his life that he felt truly alone about everything. It had come to a point where he needed to start doing something about it, except that, he didn't know exactly what to do. But avoiding his situations was beginning to torture him within. He was slowly transitioning to become a person he never wanted to be. The bitterness in his heart was rising toward everyone in his life and all he could feel was anger. Perhaps, he had never felt this style of betrayal before and Ryu was struggling to deal with his emotions.

"It was a mistake…" Irene hopelessly said in a low whisper.

Ryu tried to comprehend, "How was it mistake?" He made a funny noise to that, "Did both of you accidently fall on top each other?" His tone sounded as if he was making fun of her.

"That is not fair. You cheated on me with Kasumi have you forgotten that?"

He shook his head, "I've made it clear that I couldn't pursue any relationship with you until Kasumi was safe. Perhaps you and I shouldn't have gotten intimate too soon, and at the time it was nothing more than lust between us…"

 _For you maybe…_ Irene sadly thought to his statement. Now thinking back, Irene felt stupid as she had clearly misunderstood their closeness back then. But once he was no longer attached to the promise he made to Hayate, he chose to commit to her and they became even closer. He had ever since proven that she was the only one for him. Due to that, it was hard for Irene to hold anything against him. Nonetheless, it still hurt for her to know he had slept with Kasumi as she had already fallen hard for Ryu at the time.

"Why did you do it Irene? of all of people, why Hayate?"

Irene ran her hands through her golden blonde hair, "Because I was so angry with you…"

Ryu was baffled, wondering what he had done so badly that drove his wife straight to his best friend's arms. He looked confused at her and insulted at the same time.

Irene collected herself to tell him what had happened as there was no turning back now. "Remember that big fight that we had before the wedding…?" Irene was rather careful with how she approached her story.

Ryu frowned, trying to remember what his wife was referring to, as they hardly had any major arguments from what he remembered. Then something hit him because the only big fight they ever had was on the same week as their wedding. Memories began rolling in his mind, slowly unfolding itself. Hayate was in New York since he was invited to their wedding…of course, Ryu thought. It made sense all sudden.

"You had cold feet…you said you couldn't go through it and we began arguing, then I left because I was so upset with you…" She proceeded, but Ryu continued her thought.

"I couldn't find you for two days…that's when I realized I couldn't live without you. I felt terrible…" He stopped talking for a minute. His face was burning, his stomach twisting in a way that made him think he was going to throw up. "I needed Hayate for advice, but I couldn't get a hold of him either...I see now." Ryu was amused, as they played him good.

Irene didn't interrupt him since he was spot on with the details. She didn't have to say much more. The memories began playing back in her mind like a movie. She had gone to Hayate's hotel room at the time to beg him to talk some sense into Ryu because she thought that he wanted to cancel the wedding. Instead, Hayate was comforting her. It was surprising to Irene because she had thought that Hayate never liked her that much. He was being strangely sweet and understanding. In the past, she had heard Hayate telling Ryu about their relationship was doomed to fail, but Irene was desperate and she knew Ryu would listen to Hayate. She had no choice but to go to him.

That same evening, Irene had accidently fallen asleep on Hayate's bed as she had been exhausted after a long emotional day. He didn't wake her. When she woke up it was already late at night. She was still upset and tried to leave but Hayate suggested that she should stay until morning at least. Neither could go back to sleep, so they sat up and talked. Once again, he was comforting her. She remembered thinking that Hayate was quite charming and funny after spending a little time with him. Then one thing led to another and the next thing she remembered, they kissed. Being vulnerable and angry at the time, Irene didn't think twice about her action.

The day after, she began panicking but Hayate had comforted her again…though this time, he was seducing her and she couldn't resist. Hayate was making her feel good and she felt so pitiful now thinking back of how weak she was. Though she never knew why Hayate did what he did, why he would risk his friendship with Ryu just to get rid of her? It didn't make sense… and while she was deeply saddened and full with regret with what they had done, Hayate however wasn't worried at all, as if he didn't care about hurting Ryu. She should have known that the guy had no soul and the ultimate cold shinobi inside out… Irene shook her head slightly at the last thought. She then snapped back to reality when Ryu spoke again.

"I hope it was worth it." He said and hurried to the door.

"Ryu," Irene begged and followed right behind.

He abruptly stopped and turned to her, "Do not follow me." He said in an icy voice.

Then he looked at her for a good moment. Despite his anger, he hated seeing her cry. He wasn't showing it, but it was driving him crazy not being able to comfort her.

"Suddenly, our love doesn't seem like some great love." Ryu took his coat and closed the door behind him. He didn't know where he was going, but at that moment just away from his wife.

Irene made a horrible gasping noise. She just stood there, rooted to the spot, except from her tears that suddenly wouldn't stop flooding her cheek. Then all the scary thoughts ran through her mind wondering if they could ever fix this and would they ever be happy again. She could blame Hayate for all she wanted, but deep down she knew she could only blame herself for her own action. Her heart was beating so fast and every other emotion pushed away from her being as all she could feel at that moment was fear and deep sadness.

 **Tokyo, Japan**

It was already past midnight and Kasumi struggled to sleep. It had become a pattern ever since Takeshi left her over a week ago. The heavy thinking over her problems was making her restless. Kasumi was born as a warrior princess and she was raised to be strong physically and emotionally. But lately, she couldn't help but feel like a complete failure as a wife, daughter, sister and mother. She then tossed to the other side and let out a weary sigh at her thought. She missed _him…_

Her eyes tracked to her phone on the bed table. She reached and looked at it. Still nothing…waiting to hear from Takeshi, hoping that he would change his mind and that it was just another stupid argument of theirs. The more she hoped the more broken and empty she felt inside. It made her so angry that he just gave up on them again. Though she wasn't surprised, as this wasn't the first time he had done it. When things got tough, he would leave instead of trying to fix the problems. The past two years had been rocky between them.

Tenzou hadn't asked nor mentioned Takeshi. Perhaps he was getting used to his absence. Even before this, he'd only seen Takeshi every other weekend. It made it a little easier on her because she wouldn't know how to response if Tenzou would suddenly start asking where his father was. Kasumi wanted to cry, but her tears were all dried up as she had done enough crying that week.

Then she looked at the picture frame on the bedside table. A picture of the two of them on their wedding day. She stared at it for a good moment, until anger sliced through her the longer she stared at it. In rage, Kasumi sat up on her bed, grabbed the frame and opened the backside to take the picture out. She looked at it for another five seconds before she ripped the picture into pieces, then threw the rest into a garbage can nearby. Her heart was beating hard, she felt guilty but it was driving her crazy. Her breathing increased due to the intense pain she was feeling. She took a deep breath to keep herself together. Next, she lifted her hand and looked at her wedding ring that was still attached to her finger. Without thinking twice, Kasumi tried to take it off but it wouldn't budge. She clenched her teeth and tried again. With great effort, she managed to take it off and then threw the ring on the wall followed with a frustrated groan, as if she wanted to scream but restraining all she could from going completely insane. Everything had been balling up in her chest and she finally has had enough.

Kasumi threw herself back onto her bed, drew the cover up to her chin and began sobbing again. She was so emotionally exhausted.

When morning arrived, Kasumi awoke to the sound of her alarm clock. She sat up and glanced at her bedside table. The alarm clock was flashing 8:00 AM. Kasumi yawned her eyes out as she was still so tired, feeling like she hadn't slept at all. But she had no choice since Tenzou would be up early and she had to prepare him breakfast. She would just have to push through her drowsiness to survive the day.

An hour later…

"Tenzou, breakfast is ready!" Kasumi shouted from the kitchen. She had only gotten two hours of sleep, but she was glad that it was her weekend off because she wouldn't have survived working at the restaurant in her current state of mood. Kasumi frowned, as her son didn't seem to hear her. She went looking for him. She found him in his room picking his favorite toys and put them into his backpack.

"Hey, why are you packing?" She asked.

He turned to her, "I want to bring my favorite toys when I stay with papa."

Kasumi's heart ached, as she just realized that Takeshi was supposed have him this weekend. Though she wasn't sure if he would show up, and she had a funny feeling that he wouldn't this time. Kasumi ran a hand through her messy hair and breathe out a heavy sigh. She hated this part. Tenzou looked so happy, so clueless…she then walked over and knelt on the floor beside him.

"What do you say if we spend this weekend together instead?" She forced a smile.

"Why? Are we going to see uncle Hayate again?" Tenzou asked while still collecting his toys, he didn't know which one he wanted to bring with him.

"No, just you and me…" Kasumi didn't know how to say it.

"Then I want to go with Papa." He casually responded.

Kasumi sighed. "Listen, your papa is very busy…I don't think he can make it today okay, I'm sorry." She touched his face lovingly.

Tenzou suddenly stopped from packing. He slowly began pouting, then without any warning, he grabbed one of his toys and threw it passed Kasumi hitting the wall behind her. Kasumi was startled at the unexpected rage. The toy broke and Tenzou screamed at her.

"I want to go with papa!"

"That is not the way to treat your toys and you do not shout at me like that." Her firm discipline voice quickly came out, as she didn't want to deal with his tantrum at that moment. But Tenzou refused to listen and began crying stomping his feet repeatedly and kept repeating that he wanted to stay with his father. Perhaps she was being harsh but her patient was just running short that morning. She didn't want to punish him, as she understood his disappointment.

Her voice then softened. "Look at me," She asked softly and he did, but his eyes were fill with tears. She wiped them off his cheeks.

"I made your favorite breakfast, so let's go eat our breakfast and then we can go do a lot of fun stuff and have a good day together, what do you say? Plus, you have Karate class later today too…you're excited about that, aren't you?" She smiled. Tenzou was always excited to go to his Karate class, because he had made new friends and he said that Hitomi was a cool teacher. Every time he came home from his class, he was often excited to show Kasumi what he had learned.

Tenzou wasn't responsive and tears were still running down his cheeks. But he wasn't talking back nor screaming. Kasumi hated seeing her son so upset, as he had already gone through a lot in his short life. She tried something else by taking both his hands, gently shaking them playfully and smiled to him trying to get him to smile with her.

"I love you," She said. Her voice was so gentle.

It was slowly working as he suddenly leaned in for a hug. But when Kasumi tried to break from the hug, he refused to let go. She happily lifted him up and carried him to the kitchen to eat their breakfast. Tenzou was being a little baby and clingy but that was normal when he had been that upset. She preferred him being a baby and wanted to be carried and cuddled, as Tenzou was growing up too fast for her.

While eating their breakfast, Kasumi studied her son from across the table, as if he had forgotten about Takeshi. Though she only wondered how long until he would react again on Takeshi's absence. Because right now, he just believed that his father couldn't make it, and he didn't know that he might never see him again. The sadness strike her once again… and all their memories as a family balled up in her chest. Even good memories had suddenly turned into painful memories. As depressed as Kasumi was feeling, she needed to be a mother first and grief later.

Later that same day, Kasumi delivered Tenzou to his Karate class. Once back outside to head back home, Kasumi adjusted and zipped up her knee length white coat and then pushed opened her see through umbrella when more rain was swirling down, and an icy wind was scouring the streets, stirring up grit and trash. It wouldn't be long before the winter would set in. She kept her head down due to the cold and started walking fast to hurry home. She passed by a crowded street park nearby her apartment complex. Something suddenly didn't feel right to her as she was walking through the park. It was one of those strong senses she had when she was a kunoichi where she could sense if a familiar energy approached her. But being as rusty as she was, Kasumi didn't think twice about it. Still unable to shake the feeling off, Kasumi paused in her tracks and looked back at the bench park that she passed by a few seconds ago looking in the direction questionably. She decided to go back to see if her senses were right.

"Why are you sitting in the rain…?" Kasumi asked strangely with a frown.

He stared at her rainboots and then slowly trailing his gaze up looking Kasumi in the eyes. He didn't even realize it was raining as his mind had been so far away from reality. Then he lowered his gaze back down at her boots looking rather aloof.

"Hayabusa…?" Kasumi tilted and tried to get his attention again, as he looked lost and depressed.

"Did you just get here?" She continued asking.

He lightly shook his head, but still not looking at her.

"Last night…" He spoke low, "I wanted to see you…but I'm still so damn angry with you."

Kasumi's frown deepened, unsure what to say. She then gazed up the sky as rain was getting thicker by the minute. She slightly leaned forward toward him and took his icy cold hand.

"Come with me," She said.

Ryu looked up at her, giving her an annoyed look but Kasumi didn't let his hand go, "You can't just sit out here in this weather…you'll get sick."

"That's the least of my worries right now." He replied and pulled his hand away from her hand.

Kasumi sighed. She refused to just leave him there as she could see that something was not right with Ryu, and she was worried about him.

"So, you're just going to sit here until you're no longer angry with me? Because if that's the case, you'll freeze to death."

He didn't respond and just sitting still as a statue.

"Fine, then I'll sit here with you." Kasumi lowered herself and sat next to him. She held her umbrella up in the way where it would cover Ryu too.

He looked at her sideway with a serious expression, "Some things never changed…"

"What do you mean?" She wondered.

"Kasumi will do whatever Kasumi wants until she gets her way." He said in a tone where it sounded rather rude to her ears than teasing.

She raised a brow to that... "Are you mocking me, Hayabusa?"

Ryu ignored, making Kasumi shook her head and rose to her feet to leave, but before she did she looked at him one last time.

"And you still talk to me like I'm a child." She didn't know why his words made her so upset, "Sit in the cold and freeze to death if you want, why do I care." Kasumi turned and left the park without looking back.

A faint amusing smirk appeared on the corner of his lips. Kasumi was the only one who could talk to him like that and get away with it. _How typical..._ Ryu shook his head. Then he looked up at the rainy sky that was dominant by dark clouds. A deep weary sigh escaped him. A perfect weather that described how he was feeling inside.


	12. Chapter 12

_This day just keeps getting better_ , Kasumi whined to herself while taking off her coat and rainboots by the door. Afterward she quickly marched to the kitchen to make herself a cup of hot tea as she was freezing. While sipping from the cup, Kasumi stared out the window above the kitchen sink. The rain was pouring even thicker outside and the wind had intensified. She breathed out a sigh thinking about Ryu sitting alone in the rain. Now she suddenly felt guilty for leaving the way she did, as there was no reason to get so triggered by what he said. After all, Ryu had the right to be angry with her. Kasumi let out another sigh and took another sip from her tea, then put down the cup and marched back out to the front door to put her raincoat back on. She decided to head back to the park.

When Kasumi opened the door, she was startled at the sight of Ryu standing outside with his hand gesture frozen in the air as if he was about to knock. _Talking about perfect timing,_ she thought to that.

He looked pale and slightly shivering. Kasumi's eyes trailed below at the pool of water surrounding Ryu's feet, as he was soaked from head to toe. Kasumi then held the door open a little wider signing him to come inside. He reluctantly did. Once inside, she helped take off his coat and hurried to the bathroom to get a towel and gave it to him. Then she went to find some new dry clothes for Ryu to wear.

"Here," She handed him T-shirt and sweatpants.

He looked at the clothes ridiculously, "I'm not wearing your husband's clothes." He said in a dismissing tone.

"They're Hayate's. He forgot some of his clothes when he would stay over to help babysit Tenzou for me. You guys are about the same size, so I'm sure they will fit."

Not that he wanted to wear Hayate's clothes either but he hadn't got much choice. "Thank you..." He said and took the clothes. Kasumi then showed Ryu where the bathroom was so he could go change.

Meanwhile Kasumi went back to the kitchen to prepare another cup of tea for Ryu. Soon after, he joined her in the kitchen. She turned and glanced at him for a quick second. He looked tired and perhaps he hadn't slept much due the shadow under his eyes.

"I didn't think you would come back…" She said with her back turned. But Ryu didn't respond. He instead leaned on the kitchen counter and studied her from behind. She turned to look at him again but this time their eyes locked briefly. Awkward, Kasumi quickly turned back around.

"You've cut your hair," Kasumi mentioned.

Things had been happening too fast for her that she just now noticed how Ryu looked like after years of not seeing him. She remembered him saying in the past that he would never cut his hair for whatever reason. Now that she thought about it, most Hayabusa male clan members have long hair. Perhaps that was their signature look or maybe Irene liked his hair short and he cut it for her…but he hadn't changed much otherwise, Kasumi thought to herself.

"You must be cold, tea is almost done…"

"Why did you keep him a secret from me?" He suddenly interrupted not wanting to waste his time on small talk. He just wasn't in the right mood for that. Even though Kasumi never confirmed if Tenzou was his, Ryu was certain that he was the father. He didn't get any response but heard her sighed instead.

Soon Kasumi placed two cups of hot tea on the little table in the kitchen corner and gestured for Ryu to take a seat. Once he did, Kasumi then took a deep breath and prepared herself to answer his question.

"I never meant to keep him a secret…" She first replied.

Ryu wanted to roll his eyes at that as he was fed up with all the excuses. How do one accidently lie to the people they were supposed to care about? He asked himself trying to comprehend. He wondered what Hayate reasoning would be for sleeping with his wife, and his excuse should be the best one out of all. But he didn't say a damn word to what he truly thought of her response, instead he would give Kasumi a chance to explain. Not that it would justify anything to him but he was curious enough to know what had rationalized the decision through Kasumi's mind at the time.

After what happened with Takeshi, Kasumi had asked herself a few critical questions she had avoided asking for years. Such as, what if one day Tenzou find out that he had another father than Takeshi, his biological father and what if Tenzou would hate her for keeping such a secret from him. Even Hayate was beginning to catch up to the truth. She could no longer escape the guilt of _what if_ … Kasumi didn't know what would happen after all of this but she knew that she needed to start telling Ryu the truth behind everything. He had the right to know. Knowing Ryu, he wouldn't have backed down and he would have gotten to the bottom of it one way or another until he got his answer. It was best that it came from her before she too would lose all credibility from him. Even though they didn't get along very well in the past, she still had a debt to him that she would never be able to repay.

Not wasting more of their time, Kasumi began telling the story from the start.

When she first found out about her pregnancy, her immediate reaction was not to keep the baby. It was an easy decision for Kasumi to make due to her situation at the time. She was in no condition to raise nor provide for a child. It would be too selfish to keep the pregnancy.

"You should have come to me..." He replied to that.

Kasumi was pleasantly surprise as he sounded so soft and caring and not angry or judgmental as what she expected he would be.

"It wouldn't have mattered, Hayabusa. There were just too many obstacles. Your reputation, your clan, your father…and what would they have said about you having a child with someone like me?"

"I wouldn't have cared about that." He firmly replied but this time with a slight anger hinted in his voice.

Kasumi disagreed, as he should have cared she thought. She would have made his life very complicated and she couldn't have burdened him with a child. It was reckless if he didn't care.

"You should have told me…" Ryu repeated in a hopeless low mumbling sound but kept his gaze on the teacup. Kasumi could barely hear him. The disappointment and the pain on his face broke her heart.

"I wanted to tell you that day by the river…" Kasumi continued.

He thought back and remembered how upset Kasumi was when he had told her he was moving to New York. At first, he assumed that it was because of Irene since he knew about Kasumi's feelings toward him at the time. He did however sense that something else was bothering Kasumi greatly on the last days they spent together. She was acting rather strange and nervous around him even before he told her he was moving away. It made more sense to him now.

"But then you said you were moving to be with Irene. If I had told you, Tenzou and I would have just stood in the way of your happiness."

"Don't try and make it sound as if you were doing me any favor, Kasumi." Her words triggered and his teeth clenched. "A lot could have been avoided if you would have…" Ryu was so frustrated he couldn't even talk properly.

"Put yourself in my shoes, what would you have done? I was young and scared…" Kasumi talked over him due to her own frustration.

"The more reason why you should have come to me." He interrupted her roughly.

"It wasn't that simple, Hayabusa!" Kasumi raised her voice, then rose out from her chair, marched towards the sink and stared out the kitchen window when more frustration sliced through her. The conversation overwhelmed them both.

Neither spoke for a while. They were both tired and heart broken. Ryu scrubbed his eyes annoyingly and then gazed at Kasumi's back. He saw her hand raised and wiped her helpless tears. But he didn't feel sorry for her.

Memories played back in Kasumi's mind. The same week she wanted to abort her pregnancy, Ryu found her again. But he wasn't alone and had brought Hayate with him. They began telling her everything. Kasumi hadn't realized that her brother and Ryu had been secretly working together to keep her safe. When Hayate returned from Germany, he didn't know about Kasumi abandoning the village to avenge him. Everything was happening while he was in the coma and he later got kidnapped by the DOATEC for an inhuman experiment. Shiden then granted Hayate a temporarily leader position and his first mission was to continue to hunt down and kill his sister. He had no choice but to follow the rules. That was when he had begged Ryu to look after her from the shadow while he try to convince the village elders to give Kasumi a second chance. It took a lot longer time that he had expected. Hayate told Kasumi that he never wanted to kill her in the first place and that he had never given up on her. He did the best he could under the circumstances.

Though what was even more strange to Kasumi was that Ryu was already protecting her even before Hayate had asked him too. She asked him why. Ryu then explained that he had promised Hayate a long time ago that if anything would happen to him, he would look out for her and Ayane, a promise Ryu took seriously. Kasumi didn't quite know what to think whether to be flattered or annoyed as she and Ayane could look after themselves. But Hayate had always been an overprotective big brother and Ryu had always been close to her family. It made sense that they cared about their well being.

But Kasumi was rather shocked after listening to everything. She realized she was the one at fault for putting him in that difficult position. All those years she despised Hayate during her runaway days. He became her worst enemy and she feared him, thinking that her family had disowned her. But she finally understood everything and why Ryu was always around. Then everything changes… there was hope for her and the baby after all. Kasumi began to reconsider her possibility. Being naive and desperate at the time, she had thought that she and Ryu could finally be together and they would be a family. Until he dropped the bomb about moving to New York to be with Irene.

"What am I supposed to do now, Kasumi?"

His voice snapped her back to reality. "I don't know…" She responded wiping more tears, "I don't even know what I'm doing anymore…"

Another long silence surrounded them. It wasn't an uncomfortable silence, but a sad silence. Until it broke by Ryu's phone when it started ringing. He only stared at it. Kasumi observed with wondering eyes. He then put the sound on mute and put his phone away with a sigh. Kasumi raised a brow to that…

"Does Irene know you're here?" She reluctantly asked.

"No…"

"You said you've been here since last night, don't you think she would wonder where you are right now?"

This time he didn't respond nor give Kasumi any eye contact. But suddenly, he rose out from the chair and out of the kitchen. Kasumi followed as he looked somewhat in a hurry.

"Where are you going?" She asked.

"I don't know, but I shouldn't be here when your husband comes home."

"Ex-husband, we've been divorced for months…" Her sentence came out in a rush.

Ryu paused and frowned at her, then moved his gaze to her ring finger. No ring, but he could see the red circle mark around it. He was confused since it wasn't so long ago he saw the guy in her apartment late at night with their rings still attached to their fingers. It seemed like complicated love story and not that it interested him in any way as he got his own problems with Irene.

Kasumi quickly gazed toward the clock on the wall. She hadn't realized that it had already gone over an hour and it was time to pick up Tenzou from his Karate class. Kasumi then thought about something, though she wasn't sure if he would say yes.

"Um, I have to go pick up Tenzou but why don't you stay for dinner?" Kasumi awkwardly asked.

Ryu looked at her with a slight frown. Kasumi had forgotten how intimidating his green eyes were. He gave her invitation a consideration, he didn't think it was a good idea but something within him wanted to stay a little longer. He didn't really want to be alone.

"Okay." Ryu simply replied.

She heard right. Kasumi thought for sure he would decline. "I won't be long, he's just across the street. Make yourself comfortable meanwhile, Hayabusa." Kasumi then walked passed Ryu in a hurry toward the door. She suddenly stumbled a little and hurt her toe, "That hurts…" Kasumi mumbled but continued as if it was nothing. Ryu stared her way until she disappeared out the door. Only seconds later Kasumi opened the door again as she forgot her umbrella and gave Ryu a quick smile and closed the door again.

He frowned strangely, _So clumsy…_

In the meantime, Ryu went to Kasumi's living room. Kasumi did alright for herself, he thought. The family pictures in the room caught his attention. He walked over to look closer. One of the picture that was hanging on the wall was the newborn Tenzou in Kasumi's arms. He looked so tiny, it must have been taken weeks after he was born. Kasumi wore a white dress, looking at baby Tenzou with a soft caring smile. He couldn't stop looking at it. Ryu hadn't even realized that a smile was forming on corner of his lips the longer he looked at it. His eyes tracked to the picture next to it. It was a gold-framed photograph of Kasumi in her wedding dress. She stood profile, with a bouquet in her hands and a long veil drifting down on her back. There was a glow to her, and just like in the first picture Kasumi looked genuinely happy. He had never seen Kasumi looked this beautiful. He had always thought that she had a kind of understated beauty, perhaps it was because she was so disarmingly unaware of her prettiness.

He then moved on to another picture. This one was taken on Tenzou's first birthday, since the cake said number one on it. He didn't recognize other people in the picture… probably Kasumi's friends or her ex-husband's family. There was however one person he knew well, Hayate. A sight that made his blood spurting hot and fast through his veins. He looked away from it and relaxed a little as his mind was too tired to go there at that moment. He quickly moved on to another frame, but this one was a full family picture with Takeshi in it. Strange feelings rushed through him while staring at it, thinking what could have been and how much he had missed out. He felt resentment at the thought of another man taking care of _his_ son. Ryu took another deep breath and turned away from all the pictures that were beginning to torment him.

Half an hour later, Kasumi was back. While Kasumi was taking off her coat and rainboots, Tenzou ran toward the living room in high excitement as he noticed the male figure from the distance and had thought that it was either Takeshi or Hayate. Kasumi quickly reacted since he had run inside with his dirty rainboots and wet jacket on. She shook her head and hurried to him. But Tenzou had stood frozen at the unexpected sight of Ryu and Ryu was looking back at him. Kasumi decided to take his jacket and rainboots off at the spot.

"Mama, that's Ryu." He whispered to her.

Kasumi chuckled, "You remember him huh?"

He nodded and tilted back at Ryu curiously.

"And what did I tell you about calling other people that are older than you by their first name?" She softly reminded him.

Ryu only observed in silent. It was like looking at a mini version of himself… since Tenzou was his son he guessed that it kind of made sense. It hadn't sunk in yet that he was a father. It was too scary for him to fully acknowledge the fact.

Later that evening while Kasumi was preparing dinner, Tenzou was on the floor in the living room keeping himself busy with coloring and drawing. Ryu observed from the couch. Now and then Tenzou would look at him, studying Ryu. It made Ryu a little awkward when that happened. Suddenly, he rose off the floor and marched over with a drawing paper in his hand. He wanted to show Ryu what he had drawn.

Ryu looked at it, "What is it?"

Tenzou was a little shy with his response, "You have to guess…" He said.

He studied the drawing again with a slight frown, "Hmm…a duck?"

Tenzou burst out laughing. It forced Ryu to smile too, "What is it then?"

"It's you…" Tenzou pointed.

"So, I look like a duck huh?" He teased and Tenzou giggled. Then he went to get another drawing from the floor and showed Ryu another one.

"I know who this is," Ryu said with a smile. "That's your beautiful mother,"

Tenzou nodded happily. "Yup, that's my mama."

From across the kitchen Kasumi was peeking toward the living room due to the noises, and she couldn't stop smiling at what she was seeing. She felt something strange rushed through her, it was a warm kind of feeling but squeezy at the same time.

Soon after, dinner was served. The dining table was fill with delicious homemade dishes. Kasumi had prepared his favorite traditional steamed rice and miso soup with three main dishes, two vegetable dishes and one with fish. Those weren't all she had prepared, there were also little hot dogs wrapped in pastry but they were Tenzou's since he could choose what he wanted for dinner this time. Then Kasumi placed the last dish on the table, egg rolls with the apricot dipping sauce. Ryu was impressed with how she got all of them done in such short amount of time. He just learned that Kasumi was a chef but he wasn't surprised as he knew even before she was a great cook.

"You made enough for the neighborhood…" He stated.

"I didn't mean to prepare this much but I'm in serious need of comfort food." Kasumi replied with a sigh.

It wasn't as if he was complaining either since he was starving. Then they all took their seats and began digging in.

During dinner, Kasumi expected for it to be awkward but surprisingly it wasn't as what she had expected. Perhaps having Tenzou there eased up their tension a little. Her son was in a bubbly mood and did most of the talking. Even though Ryu didn't understand half of what Tenzou was saying. But now and then he and Kasumi would briefly locked eyes and their expressions turned awkward. Ryu wasn't as talkative and did mostly observing. He could immediately tell that Tenzou had gotten his personality from his mother. Which was a good thing since he had always thought that his own personality was boring and he felt often sorry for people who had to be in the same room as him, since he wasn't the type who would start a conversation

Ryu was also used to eating his dinner alone so this was new to him. Even growing up, he never had a complete family and his father was often away while he never knew his mother since she passed away when Ryu was still a baby. The closest he had to having family dinner was when Hayate invited him to Mugen Tenshin when they were younger. He was envious of Hayate back then because he had a loving complete family. Their home was filled with warmth and laughter, while his was cold and quiet. It suddenly hit him in the strangest way possible that he was having dinner with _his_ family.

Tenzou's voice snapped him back from his deep thought.

"Do people make fun of your eyes?" He asked.

Ryu looked at him confused. Kasumi noticed and she explained for him.

"He was teased in the kindergarten because of his eyes color."

That broke Ryu's heart a little, "No…most kids feared me back then." That was the worse reply he thought.

"Why, did you beat them up?" Tenzou wondered.

Ryu looked back at Kasumi with a frown. Kasumi slightly shrugged, "It's a long story…"

The rest of the evening continued that way. Ryu was overwhelmed by Tenzou's intelligence for his age. For weeks, he had been depressed and lost. This was the first time he felt calmed.

Kasumi had also been observing. She caught Ryu smiling a few times and the way he looked at Tenzou melt her heart. He looked proud. But there was also tremendous guilt she couldn't escape. She also wondered if Ryu had told Irene about Tenzou. A lot of things was about to change in her life and she wasn't sure if it was a good thing.

Much later that evening, Kasumi put Tenzou to bed while Ryu waited in the living room. She wanted to talk to him before he would leave and he agreed to stay a bit longer. They had a lot to talk about. Once Tenzou had fallen asleep, Kasumi marched back out to the living room.

"Sorry it took so long. Bedtime is not always as smooth…" Kasumi paused at the sight of Ryu sleeping on the couch. He must have been very tired. She looked at him for a good time, then she turned to her bedroom to get something. Seconds later, Kasumi came back out with a pillow and a blanket in her hands. She gently placed the pillow under Ryu's head and covered him with the soft blanket. He was so deep asleep he barely reacted. She briefly peeked out the window and it was stormy outside due to the heavy rains and thunder. Kasumi let out a weary sigh since she too was exhausted. Their conversation could wait as they all need to recharge. Kasumi then turned to her bedroom.

 **Late that night…**

The flashing bolts of lightning and the loud sound of thunder woke Ryu. He sat up panting, sweat flowed down his forehead and dripped from his chin. _It was just a nightmare…_ He gathered himself and glanced toward the window noticing the heavy rains outside. Then he looked toward the flicking fireplace, crackling as the burned the dry woods. It was nice and warm in the room. Another lightning strike followed with the rumbling sound of thunder seconds after. He then looked around to fully register where he was. He hadn't even realized that he had fallen asleep. His body hit the limit after two days with no sleep. Then he just sat there in the dark scrubbing his eyes and ran his hands down his weary face.

Suddenly the sound of someone sobbing grabbed his attention. He peeked toward the end of the hallway ahead of the living room. It was dark so he couldn't see as clear until the lightning bolt lightened up the entire apartment. Tenzou was clinging to his mother's bedroom door begging for her to open it.

"Mama, open up..." He kept saying while softly sobbing. Kasumi didn't seem to hear him.

"Tenzou," Ryu called from the living room.

Tenzou peeked toward him. He instantly stopped crying and backed away from the door looking even more scared. It was dark and he must have looked intimidating to him. Ryu didn't know what to do, maybe he should wake Kasumi and helped Tenzou get to her. As he was about to get up, another loud sound of thunder emerged, startling Tenzou and he quickly ran to Ryu without hesitation. He reached out his arms begging for Ryu to lift him up. It was unexpected but Ryu did what came naturally. Tenzou then hid his face onto Ryu's chest for comfort. His little body tensed as he was scared. It didn't take long for Ryu to figure why.

"You're afraid of thunder..." He said softly while holding him tight in his embrace.

After a few minutes, Tenzou had calmed down perhaps he felt safe and he was slowly falling back to sleep again. Ryu tried not to make too much movement afraid to wake him up.

Suddenly, Kasumi opened her bedroom door and looked around frantically for her son.

"Kasumi," Ryu softly called making her turned toward him. He pointed to soundlessly asleep Tenzou in his lap.

Kasumi marched over, "I thought I heard him…" She whispered. Then she just realized that Ryu was holding Tenzou. It was an unexpected sight. A faint smile played on her lips as she studied her sleeping son.

"I guess I should put him back to bed," Kasumi said in a low whisper.

"Alright..." Ryu gently handed Tenzou to Kasumi.

Once she had laid him back in his room, Kasumi marched back out to the living room and lowered herself down on the couch next to Ryu with a deep sigh.

"He's just like you, afraid of thunder." He looked at her.

Kasumi chuckled to that, "He's stubborn too. But beside from that he's all you."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, he looks nothing like me. Even your father was suspicious when he saw him."

Ryu looked at her wide-eyed, "My father…?"

"I ran into him one evening after we visited Mugen Tenshin. I wasn't surprised though and even Hayate knew he was yours even though I'd never told him. It was that obvious I suppose..."

Ryu was confused and clearly he had missed out on a lot. Now it finally made sense why Hayate was acting rather odd when he was in New York, asking bunch of personal questions about his past with Kasumi.

"I heard that you never returned back to Mugen Tenshin…" He wondered.

"I wanted too very badly. But after that day by the river, I had to rethink everything. I didn't want to go back because I was afraid of how everyone would react to me coming back and pregnant. It was too much pressure, so I met up with Hayate and begged him to let me go." Kasumi sighed deeply before continuing while Ryu frowned in curiosity while listening.

"He tried to convince me to change my mind as he strongly disagreed with my decision. But after a long discussion, Hayate finally let me go. Though he had to strip all my ranks as a shinobi so he wouldn't break the rules, that way I would no longer be attached to be one of them. I was no longer their responsibility as I would be considered a civilian. It didn't matter to me since from that point on it was no longer about me." Kasumi yawned. She was still too sleepy.

"I see…" Ryu couldn't judge Kasumi for giving up the shinobi way of living. He too was in the same position as her except that he never fully retired. But unlike Kasumi, he couldn't even If he wanted too.

"I wish things were different, Hayabusa." Kasumi mumbled in a drowsy voice, "I only did what I thought was best for our son…" Her body slowly fell to the side until her head rested on a sofa cushion and drifted off to sleep. He studied her with a deep frown, unsure what to think about what she had just said. _Our son..._ and she said so casually or Kasumi was too sleepy to think about her words. But somehow the sound catches his heart like a hook. Ryu then drew the blanket over Kasumi's shoulders and let her rest.

He took out his phone when it vibrated. It was a message from Irene. He had gotten two miscall from her earlier that night as well. With a deep sigh, Ryu opened the message to read.

" _Please come home and let's talk about this…"_

He decided to turn off his phone and stared in the air in the dark. Unable to go back to sleep and clueless on what he should do next.

 **Mugen Tenshin**

"Have you seen Ayane?" Hayate asked one of Ayane's men on a training field nearby the Hajinmon temple.

"No, Master Hayate." He shook his head.

 _Damn it, Ayane._ Hayate cursed within him.

He had been looking everywhere for her and it was starting to anger him. Hayate then rushed to the main entrance to check with the guards if they knew anything. They must have seen her leaving the village. As he approached the gate, Hayate paused with a sigh of annoyance at the sight of Ayane walking inside the gate. _Perfect timing_ , he thought.

"Where the hell have you been?"

Ayane slightly rolled her eyes and walked pass her brother. Baffled, Hayate wouldn't have it.

"I asked you a question."

She turned to him, "It's none of your business."

Hayate had been having some serious complains about to Ayane's recklessness and she had been ignoring the job she was given, as if she didn't care about her duties anymore. His reputation was on the line. Hayate didn't quite know what was up with his sister but he was done letting her get away with her behavior. He strictly explained to her about her ignoring her duties.

"Stop nagging me, Hayate. I just needed a small break alright." She replied to the complains and folded her hands over her chest.

Hayate raised a brow at Ayane's disrespectful manner. He was about to lose it. He scrubbed his eyes and took a deep breath to keep himself calm as his sister was testing his patience.

"If you needed a break then you should have asked. This is unacceptable." He walked closer to her, "I'm assigning you to D-ranks missions from now on until you can be trusted again." He didn't want to get into it with her, he was just hoping that Ayane would make it easy and left it at that.

"What?! Boring D-rank ass missions? I'm way above that…those are Genin's job. You can't do this to me as I haven't done anything wrong!" Ayane strongly disagreed.

"Do not argue with me, Ayane."

"Oh right, I forgot I'm not the spoiled princess who can do whatever the hell I want. I'm sick of you barking me orders."

"So, this is about Kasumi now?" Hayate asked.

Ayane was about to respond but Hayate cut her off by leaning closer so the villagers wouldn't be able to hear him, "Do you want to leave, then? Don't want to be a shinobi anymore? No more orders? Is that it?"

Ayane only standing there looking pissed.

"If that's the case, I have no problem stripping you from all your ranks and let you walk right out the gate and go do whatever you want to do."

Ayane kept her silence because she knew she had anger Hayate by the sound of his voice. She may be rebellious and he may be her brother but even she knew better when not to talk back at Hayate. Instead she looked away from him in a surrendering kind of look.

He sighed in disappointment. "I have somewhere to be and you know what to do. When I come back, I'll expect order around here."

Hayate gave her a final glance before he turned to leave. But he suddenly paused and turned back around, "One more thing. When we're working together, It's Master Hayate, understood?"

He looked at her strict and refused to look away until she gave him a response.

"Yes, Master, Hayate." Ayane responded in annoyance slightly mocking him.

Ayane needed boundaries in his opinion. She could be mad at him as much as she wanted too, Hayate didn't give a damn as long she understood that he meant business. He had been letting her off easily for a long time. He had been doing Ayane's job, Ryu's job and his own duties. It was starting to get on his nerve as if he was the only who still care about being a shinobi. He also hadn't seen Kasumi and Tenzou in a while and he hadn't heard from Ryu either. He wondered what was going on with all the silence. Hayate rushed back to his house to change into normal set of clothing and decided to go pay one of them a visit.


	13. Chapter 13

Irene laid on her couch with tears streaming from her eyes so heavily that when she opened them she could barely see through their liquid sheen. Her nose red and puffy. It had been over two days since Ryu left and she wonder if he would even come home. _Of course, he would_ …Irene assured her paranoid thinking trying to remind herself that they would work through it somehow and that he wouldn't leave her. There was still hope if Ryu could find it in him to forgive her. Suddenly, the doorbell rang. Irene quickly got up from the couch and hurried to the door. Ryu was finally back she thought. She opened the door without peeking through the peek hole, eagerly assuming it was her husband. Her eyes widened as this was the worst that could happen to her right now.

Hayate stood frowning trailing his eyes at Irene who looked like a hot mess. Her eyes were slightly swollen, her hair uncombed and unteased. She was still in her morning robe despite it was late in the afternoon.

"What are you doing here?" Irene wondered.

"I'm here to see Ryu."

"Well, he's not home." She coldly responded, but Hayate didn't seem to move as she expected him to leave.

"Anything else?"

He studied her briefly before responding, "No…"

With a sigh, Irene closed the door and shook her head. Was she cursed or did Hayate just happened to have the perfect timing for everything, she whined silently to herself.

It was driving her crazy not hearing from Ryu. Irene then went to check her phone again, and still nothing…taking a deep breath, Irene marched to the kitchen instead to look inside the refrigerator for something quick to eat as she hadn't been eating much. Her stomach growled for food. Time had been moving too slow for her in the past few days. She wondered where Ryu was. He couldn't ignore her forever and he had to come home eventually, Irene once again reassured herself to lessen her worry of losing him.

But suddenly, she felt like crying again. Everything was such a torment. A couple of tears managed to escape her tired eyes and she softly began sobbing, _what if he's with her…_

"Are you okay…?"

Irene turned in a lightning speed startled at the voice behind her. The plate of food she had in her hand dropped to the floor in surprised.

"What the hell?!" She shouted caught off guard. "How did you…?"

Of course, Irene thought.

 _Damn ninjas…_ even after being married to one and working with them all these years, she still forgetting that they were not regular kind of humans.

"You wouldn't have let me in otherwise." It was against the rules to use teleportation to invade someone's home and privacy but Hayate made a one-time exception.

"I told you already Ryu is not here. Are you even allowed to do that?" In annoyance, Irene sighed and then knelt to clean the wasted food and the broken pieces off the floor.

Hayate also lowered down to help, "What happened?"

"Why do you want to know, it's none of your business." Irene rolled her eyes, annoyed that Hayate didn't get that she wanted to be left alone.

"You sure about that?" He had a funny feeling about Ryu somehow knew of their one night affair. The hostility he felt from Ryu on the day he visited Mugen Tenshin puzzled him for a while. It was personal. Irene however didn't respond and that confirmed his suspicion even more.

"Please Hayate, Ryu could be home at any time. If he sees you here, it will only make things worse…"

"I have to face him sometime." He casually responded.

Irene frowned at him strange, "You're not worry at all, are you?"

"What makes you think that?"

Her frown deepened, "It just like that day… do you care that Ryu is hurting because of us? Or are you just that coldhearted of a ninja that you don't feel remorseful."

"You don't know anything about me." His voice went from soft to firm almost like a warning. Clearly what she said had hit a soft spot somewhere.

"Tell me something then," Irene proceeded. "That night, what made you do it? Why did you try to sleep with me?" She had been curious about it.

He smirked, "If I tell you, you wouldn't like my answer."

"Is there any good answer to that night?" She raised a brow.

"Fine, if you want to know so badly. Because I thought you were hot…and easy." Hayate proceeded despite Irene looking angrier all sudden, "I didn't care about your relationship with Ryu, in fact, I thought Ryu was a weakling who would give up so much for a girl. I didn't think you would give in to me so easily though. I was doing Ryu a favor, that's how I looked at it."

In a split second, Irene's hand swung towards Hayate's face when he caught her wrist and stopped her.

"That was uncalled for…" He looked at her strict, "I told you that you wouldn't like my answer."

"You really are an asshole."

"What does that make you then, Irene?"

She pulled her wrist back and turned away from him. Hayate glared at her back and Irene looked miserable. Strange enough, he started to feel a little sorry for her.

"Look, I'll find Ryu and talk to him."

"What's that going to do?" Irene replied hopeless. "You should've seen the betrayal on his face..."

He looked at her in a distant kind of look. He wished he could feel as torn up about it but he just wasn't.

"But if you want to go look for him, I'd suggest you start with your sister's house."

Hayate looked at Irene funny, "My sister?"

"For all I know, I might as well have drove him straight to her..."

"I think he is more interested in seeing his son and he has that right too…" Hayate replied.

Irene was instantly taken back, "What?" was she hearing right? She asked herself.

Her confused expression made him realized that he might have said something Irene didn't have any knowledge of, as he just figured that Ryu maybe hadn't told her and thought that he did during their arguments.

"I've said enough…"

"Hayate, what the hell did you mean?" Irene placed herself closer with her eyes wide in shock mix with more confusion.

He might as well put her out of her misery, "They have a three-year-old son together…"

It took Irene five seconds before the words had sunk in, "No…" shaking her head. Tears began forming on the corner of her eyes again and her stomach felt cramped, "Are you sure?"

"Well, I'm not. Kasumi never told me anything, but…"

"Then how can you be sure?" Irene interrupt a little aggravated about the information that made her nervous. She was already a wreck, and suddenly feeling like she got caught up in endless nightmare.

"Here, judge for yourself." Hayate showed her a picture of his nephew that he'd carried with him.

Irene looked carefully. She made a gasping sound as the boy had a striking resemblance to Ryu, especially his eyes she thought. In shock, Irene quickly rolled down the kitchen window, letting the cold air and the city sounds come through as she was desperate for fresh air. Her stomach was twisting in a way where she felt she was going to throw up. _This cannot be happening…_ hoping it was just a nightmare that she soon would wake up from. Now Ryu had a lot more reason to leave her, when more scary thoughts ran through her mind.

Hayate didn't think he would feel bad for Irene but he did. He glared at her back for a moment unsure what to say. She then closed the window and turned to face him.

"It's over…there's no way Ryu would come back to me now."

"You don't know that," He replied.

"And you do? You just told me he might have a kid with your sister. He wanted to go back to being a shinobi again…I mean, how is he going to run a clan, raise a kid and be married to me at the same time?" She ran both her hands through her golden blonde hair and began pacing back and forth while mumbling something foreign.

"Irene, calm down…"

"Don't tell me to calm down, my marriage is over..." She began bawling, overwhelmed with everything.

"I have a feeling he won't give up on you as easily," He said in a soft tone. "However, my friendship with Ryu is over, I know that much."

"And you're okay with that?" Irene looked at him strange because of the lack of emotion in the way he said it.

"I don't think it would change much. We haven't been as close friends as we used to be…" Hayate shrugged.

"Wow," Irene raised her brow, _so cold…_ she thought to herself. "After everything Ryu had done for you…"

"Don't lecture me Irene. There are things even you don't know what went on between me and Ryu."

That statement puzzled her a little, but she was too tired to play a curious agent. Irene grabbed her head as it was pounding all sudden, feeling slightly lightheaded at the same time, perhaps due to lack of sleep. She slowly staggered backward without realizing it. Hayate reacted and quickly caught her. He then led Irene to the couch, gently laid her down and drew the blanket over her shoulders as it was cold in the room. He checked her pulse and temperature, Irene seemed fine. He lowered himself closer.

"Get some rest," He said softly.

There was something about Hayate's presence and every word he spoke seemed to infuriate her to no end. He could be so sweet one second and a jerk the next. Hayate was just too unpredictable as she never knew whether he was genuine or just playing games.

Irene then tossed to the other side to avoid him. She heard him sighed. Seconds later it was complete silence. Curious, Irene turned to see and Hayate was gone.

 **Tokyo, Japan**

Ryu woke up rubbing his tired eyes. He didn't remember how he went back to sleep, but it felt good that he could rest his mind and recharged. He briefly peeked out the window from the couch noticing the rain had stopped. It was a cloudy morning. Then something else grabbed his attention, the loud scream that seemed to come from the kitchen. He got up to see what was going on.

"Get off the floor now, Tenzou. I'm not doing this with you again!" Kasumi shouted.

Ryu frowned at Tenzou lying on the floor flipping back and forth crying hysterically, refusing to let Kasumi near him.

"I want papa…" He mumbled through his tears.

"There's no papa and he is not coming back alright, it's just you and me now." Kasumi firmly replied with full frustration in her voice. But that only made things worse as Tenzou got more upset and cried even louder.

Suddenly, he rose off the floor, ran pass Kasumi and hugged Ryu's leg trying to hide or get away from his mother. Kasumi's turned with slight horror in her eyes seeing Ryu standing right behind her. He must have seen everything…she thought in embarrassment.

"Hayabusa…"

Ryu briefly stared at Kasumi, then moved his gaze to his crying son who was locked around his leg. Unsure what to make of the situation, he lifted crying Tenzou to try to calm him down. His tiny hands clutched on Ryu's t-shirt hiding his face onto his chest. Kasumi got closer but Tenzou shook his head not wanting her to get to him. She paused and just standing there feeling like a terrible mother.

"Give him a minute," Ryu softly said and walked away. Kasumi only observed from distance. Ryu was rocking Tenzou as his tears soaked his chest, then softly rubbing his back and spoke some comforting words. His voice was so gentle and soothing. It was rather quick how Tenzou reacted and calmed down.

Kasumi saw her son resting his head-on Ryu's shoulder. He looked so safe and comforted. That was supposed to be her job. Her eyes got teary at the sight, leaving her feeling as if her son hated her.

A short moment later, everything was quiet. Kasumi peeked and it looked like Tenzou had fallen asleep. Ryu laid his son on the couch and covered him with a soft blanket, then went back to Kasumi in the kitchen.

She was still embarrassed of how she handled Tenzou. Her anger and frustration took over, and now Ryu must have thought that she was a bad mother. She leaned on the kitchen counter with her arms crossed over her chest. He stood in front of her.

"Are you okay?" He asked.

"You're not mad at me?" Kasumi wondered.

"Why would I be mad at you?" He frowned.

"You must think I'm a horrible mother..."

"I don't think that at all," He assured.

"When he throws tantrum like this, I just don't know what to do. I shouldn't have said what I said, it just came out…" Kasumi somehow felt the need to explain herself.

"What happened?" Ryu asked.

"I found him packing his backpack in his bedroom again, he thought that Takeshi would pick him up today…as he was supposed to have him this weekend. Yesterday I lied and told Tenzou he was busy and couldn't make it. I didn't want to break his heart that he is not coming back this time… but how was I supposed to explain a three-year-old that?" Tears began dripping from her eyes but she quickly removed them.

He moved closer to her, "I know you're doing the best you can, Kasumi. You must be overwhelmed…"

"And why are you being nice to me?"

Ryu took his time to answer, "I wanted to stay angry with you, I wanted to yell at you for robbing me three years of my son's life. Just the thought of another man taking care of my responsibility infuriates me…but after spending a little time with Tenzou, there is just no point in being bitter. You're his mother, and if I punish you, I'd be punishing him too."

His words made Kasumi's stomach flooded with all kind of warm emotions. But now, more guilt washed over her.

"He's amazing Kasumi…and he might not know who I am yet, but he will know that I'm not going anywhere."

This was unprepared and everything was happening too fast all sudden. Somehow, she liked the way he said it. Her tensed faced relaxed long enough for a brief smile. Then Kasumi made a gasping sound and the smiled faded as it was now replaced with concern. She turned away from him, slightly anxious. It made Ryu frowned.

"You do want me in his life, right?" He reluctantly asked.

No reaction…he noticed her playing with her fingers. What Kasumi would normally do when she would get nervous. His frown deepened.

"What about Irene?" Kasumi asked.

"What about her?" Ryu responded, a little cold.

She turned back and looked at him dumb, "Well, she's your wife and the future mother of your children. Where all of this is going to fit…and does she know about Tenzou?" Kasumi wanted to stay realistic before getting too comfortable about Ryu entering her son's life.

"I don't need her permission to be a father, nor do I need yours." He firmly stated as if Kasumi had offended him.

Kasumi raised a brow to that, "That wasn't what I was saying…"

"Why do you always have to complicated everything, Kasumi?" He interrupted in annoyance.

Once again, she was caught off guard, and now Kasumi was just confused. She thought she was being rational by asking those questions.

Ryu's phone started ringing, Kasumi saw the caller. He didn't even hesitate to reject the call this time with a deep sigh followed.

"Why are you ignoring her…?" Kasumi dared and asked, as he had been ignoring her calls since he got there.

"I don't want to talk about it, not with you." He looked at her strict.

Ryu had a way of saying things that made her feel like she had done something wrong, "But if this about Tenzou…"

"It's not." He spoke over her.

Kasumi slightly shook her head, "Maybe we shouldn't talk about this when you're this way."

Kasumi turned and began preparing breakfast. He was left just standing there and both held their silence. The tension was thick around the air in the room.

"Irene cheated on me..." He suddenly blurted after a good long five minutes of intense silence.

Kasumi paused with what she was doing and slowly turned to face him again.

"We had a fight about it a couple nights ago, that is why I left and had been avoiding her."

"Oh wow, Hayabusa…I'm sorry to hear that," She felt bad for him all sudden.

"She slept with someone days before our wedding and she lied to me for years." His teeth clenched as he spoke.

Kasumi was shocked. It must be devastating for Ryu, she thought. She knew how much Ryu loved Irene. She didn't quite know what to say to him. She didn't have to say anything as Ryu suddenly felt the need to let it all out. It had been bottled up as he didn't have anyone he could confide in about his pain.

"Do you know what bother me more?"

Kasumi shook her head as she listened curiously.

"That she could stand in our wedding day, looked straight in my eyes and said she loved me, knowing what she did only days before. Who does that?" He spoke angrily.

"That's messed up…" she responded. Not much of comforting words but she was surprised still.

"That was just the good part," Ryu chuckled in amusement. "Do you know what else?" He proceeded.

Kasumi shook her head…

"My best friend who stood by my side pretending to support me…"

Now it made her wonder what he really meant. "Do you mean, Hayate?" She wondered a little confuse.

Ryu didn't respond but looked down and his expression shifted from anger to sadness.

"Hayabusa, what are you trying to say?"

"I'm trying to say that your stupid brother slept with my wife." He replied.

Kasumi's heart dropped and her eyes widened. "What…? Are you sure? Hayate would never do that to you…"

"How well do you even know your brother?" Ryu looked at her funny. "Irene admitted it."

"Okay, this is crazy…" Kasumi ran both her hands through her hair, she couldn't believe Hayate would do that to Ryu. A certain memory flipped through her mind remembering a conversation she had with Hayate one evening when he had visited her.

 _"So, you haven't done anything that you wished you haven't?"_

 _"Nope."_

 _"Well that's unlikely, you must be truly cold and heartless not to be able to feel guilt."_

 _"I'm not like you, Kasumi."_

 _"A few years ago, I did something… something hurtful to a friend. I should feel guilty and remorseful but I just don't. A few days ago, I wanted to do it again…"_

 _"Wait, two days ago, you were in New York…are you talking about Hayabusa?"_

Could that be that what Hayate meant? She wondered. It would make sense…she kept on thinking.

"What are you going to do now?" She asked.

"I don't know…" He sounded hopeless and then Ryu lowered himself down onto a chair.

"I've failed my marriage, so I'm not the one who should give anyone any advice, but you should talk to Irene and figure things out where you both want to go from here on…"

Ryu was in a tough situation. Kasumi couldn't help but feel sorry for him. She would have gone insane if she was in his shoes. Perhaps, that was how Takeshi felt when she told him about who she was, feeling like he had been living a lie.

Ryu didn't respond much to her statement but he didn't disagree with her either. Tenzou was the only good thing in his life at that point. He had only just met him, but it felt right. Days ago, he was starting to lose sense in what was meaningful in his life, but his son gave him back that purpose. Kasumi was right, he thought. One way or another, he would have to deal with it, he would have to talk to Irene no matter what the outcome may be in the end. Everything were now out on the table and all he needed to do was to find a suitable solution for all of them. He also would have to put his plan of going back to be a shinobi on hold a while longer. He couldn't go back to doing his duties in the state he was. He couldn't even think about Hayate without wanting to break every bone in his body. Their clans were alliance, that mean he would have to work alongside Hayate…it wouldn't have worked as he could no longer stand Hayate's face.

Kasumi placed a plate with rolled egg, bacon and sausage in front of him and disturb his deep thought. Then a cup of coffee. Ryu looked at the plate without blinking.

"Is something wrong?" Kasumi wondered.

"No, it looks good. I'm not used to someone serving me breakfast."

"Oh…" That was strange thought Kasumi, sure Irene must have done it. She didn't question him about what he meant. She didn't think asking about Irene would help his mood. They ate a silent meal and avoided serious conversation. There was one thing Kasumi needed to address with Ryu regarding their son but due to the bad timing, she he held the conversation off for now.

After breakfast, it was time for Ryu to leave. Before he did, he went to the living room where Tenzou laid peacefully asleep on the couch. Ryu placed his hand caringly on Tenzou's cheek and whispered, _"_ See you soon…"

Kasumi stood watching in a close distance with a smile on her lips. She then followed Ryu to the door.

"Thank you," He suddenly said.

"For what?"

"For the company…and for letting me see my son."

"You are his father," She responded but in a guilt tone of voice.

Silence settled briefly over them.

"Well, I'll see you soon." Ryu then turned and left. Kasumi held a faint smile before closing the door.

Later that same evening, Kasumi sat on the couch in her living room reading a book. Tenzou was beside her on the couch still asleep. He made movements and slowly awoke from his slumber. He called for her.

"I'm right here," Kasumi softly replied.

She lifted him onto her lap, kissed the top of his head and cuddles her son. Tenzou then looked around looking for someone.

"Where is Ryu?" He mumbled.

"He had to leave," Kasumi replied.

"Why?"

"Don't worry, he will come back." She assured placing another kiss on top of his head.

"Okay." He rested his head back on her chest and it wasn't long before Tenzou drifted back to sleep.

Funny, thought Kasumi as her son had an instant connection to Ryu. It was natural how they were around each other. Sometimes she wondered how her life would have turned out if she had told Ryu about her pregnancy on the day before they separated ways. But she wasn't about to play the regret game as it was what it was now thought Kasumi. There was no point in torturing herself about it…she couldn't change the past. Kasumi then put Tenzou in his bedroom and tucked him in nicely.

The doorbell rang.

Who could it be? she wondered. _It couldn't be Hayabusa coming back this quickly_ … Curious and to be safe, she peeked through the peeking hole before opening the door.

"I haven't seen you in a while," Kasumi stated.

"I've been busy, Ayane had been causing issues for me." Hayate replied.

Kasumi got curious about what Ayane did, but something else she was more curious about. She held the door wider and invited Hayate to come inside. He went straight to her refrigerator to find something to drink. Kasumi leaned on the doorway of the kitchen with her arms folded studying her brother. He drank half bottle of water at once.

"Thirsty?"

"You can say that…" Hayate sighed. Then he noticed Kasumi's unblinking stare.

"What?"

"Irene…?" She raised a brow.

Hayate looked at his sister annoyed, "So he was here after all."

"How could you do that to Hayabusa?"

"How is this any of your business?"

Kasumi was a little put off by his response but he was right, it wasn't her business.

"I thought we tell each other everything, I just couldn't believe you slept with her. Of all girls…"

He looked at her strict, "and you're the one to talk."

Kasumi frowned, "Why are you getting aggravated with me?"

Hayate put the water bottle away and walked pass his sister. "You know what, I don't need this."

Confused, Kasumi followed. "Hayate hold on, you're acting weird…"

He abruptly turned to her, "I don't need for you to judge me. I've put up enough with yours and everyone's crap at this point."

Her eyes widened, "My crap…?" Kasumi chuckled in amusement, "and I don't have to put up with any of yours over the years, right?"

He glared at her, "I'm starting to think that Ayane is right about you." Then turned and left, closing the door behind him.

Kasumi stood baffled… _what just happened?_ Something was clearly bothering Hayate as he would never talk to her this way. He sure said enough to make her feel horrible. Kasumi then locked the door and went to get ready for bed. It's one thing after another and it was tiring…whatever it was, she would probably hear more about it later. Kasumi was too tired to care for now.

...

Hayate paused in the middle of a busy Tokyo street and looked up at the starless sky that were dominated by dark clouds. It was a depressing sight. He thought of heading straight back to the village but he needed a little time for himself. Hayate decided to go for a short walk to think about stuff. A lot had been on his mind, but he had pushed all his emotions aside due to his duties and everything else. There wasn't many he could confide in so a lot of thing had balled up inside his chest for a long time. Part of it was what he did with Irene. It started to bother him that he could not feel guilty about ruining his best friend's marriage.

He hated crowded place like big city. He couldn't even hear himself think with all the noises. Hayate then changed his mind again and decided to head back to the village instead. Hopefully Ayane hadn't misbehaved while he was away. With both hands inside his pockets, Hayate began making his way to a less crowded area so he could teleport back. As he turned around a corner, Hayate paused in his steps once he spotted a familiar face.

 _Hitomi…_

* * *

 **Besweet:** Sorry _with a slow update. Sometimes life gets in the way, but I have no intention of abandoning this story. Hope you enjoyed this chapter and thank you for sticking out with me._


	14. Chapter 14

Hayate held his gaze toward Hitomi from the distance. Many memories were replaying in his mind as he looked at her. A lot of, _what if_...Hayate then sighed and rubbed the back of his neck tensely, realizing he had been standing there for too long. He didn't want Hitomi to see him. He looked at her one last time before turning away to make his way back home.

"Hayate!"

Hayate abruptly paused in his steps once he heard Hitomi's footsteps rushing over to him. He turned to face her but held a blank expression.

"Hi, Hitomi."

"Hi," Hitomi responded with a warm smile that lit up her entire face. "What a coincidence, I'm assuming you're here to visit your sister?"

"I was, briefly…"

"I've been wondering when I would see you again. We didn't get a chance to talk last time." Hitomi casually proceeded.

Though Hayate only found himself looking at her, unsure on how to respond.

Hitomi felt her breath quicken, and then tucking a lock of hair behind her ear getting slightly awkward at his stare. It was silent, for a moment. "Um, do you maybe want to…"

"I can't, I have to return to my village." He responded rather in a rush.

Her features quickly shifted to disappointment, "Oh..." Hitomi cleared her throat. "Well, it was nice running into you again, Hayate. Have a good night." She forced a quick smile and then walked around him to head home.

Hayate was left standing looking her way until she disappeared into the crowd…

 **Mugen Tenshin**

When Hayate arrived back at the village, he headed straight to his house. He just wanted to go to sleep and rest his mind for the day. As he passed by the Mugen Tenshin's training ground, Hayate paused and frowned at the sight of his men still training. Then he heard Ayane's loud command and he marched over to her...

"Haya…I mean Master Hayate, you're back." Ayane greeted when Hayate placed himself beside her.

"It's past evening, what are you doing?" He asked.

"These guys have been slacking, so I made them push extra harder today." Ayane replied casually.

"When I asked you to take care of the village, I didn't mean for you to torture our people."

"For god sake, I can't do anything right by your eyes anymore, can I?" She blurted out of annoyance.

"I'm not in the mood to get into it with you again, and it shouldn't be this hard Ayane. Let them go." Hayate replied in a tired but stern enough voice.

"Fine, whatever." Ayane rolled her eyes.

After she dismissed the training, Hayate found his little sister glaring at him annoyingly long.

"What?" He wondered. Funny he thought, since Kasumi had given him the same glare earlier that day.

"You're, different…" Ayane stated, "I kind of miss the old you…"

That puzzled Hayate, "The old me? What do you mean by that?"

"I don't know, you're just, different." Ayane shrugged. "I should head home anyway since I have my pitiful genin duty tomorrow…good night." Ayane left the training field leaving Hayate standing with a question mark floating on top of his head.

Hayate shrugged it off and continued to make his way back to his house. On the way, he heard familiar voices talking in a near distance. His parents, Shiden and Ayame were sitting on a bench nearby enjoying the peaceful cool night. It made Hayate smile, as he had always admired the closeness between his parents. They had an ideal marriage. After so many things that had been thrown their way, they still stuck together through everything. But he shouldn't bother them he thought, so he tried to make his way out of the area as soundlessly as possible, until he suddenly heard his name being mentioned in their conversation. Curious enough, Hayate hid behind a tree nearby to eavesdrop. It wasn't polite but he wanted to know what that was all about. Probably nothing serious he figured, but curiosity would kill him that he couldn't resist.

" _That is not the way to get through to him. If we mention this to Hayate, expect him to rebel and hold grudges against us… we don't need any more chaos in our family. This is the calmest there has ever been."_ Ayame told her husband.

" _I hear what you are trying to say Ayame, my suggestion is only for Hayate to meet this girl. But it is up to him afterward. I have no intention in forcing him into a marriage."_

A soft sigh escaped Ayame, _"Our children are a little different than our generation. They are more exposed to the modern world and way of living. Hayate is already so burden by the law of this clan…and once the time is right, I'm sure he will meet someone who will accept him for all that he is."_

It made Shiden think for a moment.

" _I suppose you are right…"_ Shiden sighed wearily.

" _I know I am,"_ Ayame held a tiny smug smile and it made Shiden smile at her charm.

" _So, are we going to talk about it?"_ Shiden suddenly wondered, but Ayame gave her husband a puzzling look.

" _About what?"_

" _Our grandson…"_

" _You noticed it too…"_ Ayame frowned.

" _I just couldn't stop thinking when I first saw him of how much resemblance he had to Joe Hayabusa's son. He is the spitting image of Ryu when he was Tenzou's age. A coincidence?"_ Shiden proceeded more curious _, "and do you think Joe knew anything that we don't?"_

" _You two are close, and if he knew, I'm sure he would have mentioned something to you…but we shouldn't make assumptions. Maybe the situation will present itself later in time. I'm just glad that we have our daughter back in our life, and just because she is no longer part of the clan, it does not make her less part of this family."_ Ayame replied.

Guilt touched Shiden's eyes, " _We cannot change the past…sometimes, I wonder if she truly had forgiven me for not protecting her. I was left with no choice once the elders outnumbered the decision…"_

" _Of course, she does."_ Ayame quickly assured, " _Our Kasumi has the kindest soul. Let's enjoy our family and not keep living in the past or torture ourselves with guilt. Like you said, we cannot change the past but we can still change the future."_

To that, a gentle smile stretched on Shiden's lips, and he placed a soft kiss on his wife's forehead.

Hayate let out a deep sigh and noiselessly left the area. Half-asleep and drowsy, Hayate finally arrived at his house. He kicked his shoes off his feet, headed straight to his bedroom and then laid himself on his comfortable futon. Hayate's body had given up but his mind wasn't ready to let go… an hour later it was midnight, Hayate was still wide awake staring at the ceiling while getting lost inside his own thoughts. It was warm in his room. He got up to open the window to let some cool night air through. But out of frustration, Hayate decided to head out for a walk around the village to clear his mind.

He headed toward to the waterfall on the hillside of the village. Once he got there, the spot was already taken. Someone was sitting on a large rock whose gaze locked at the waterfall. Hayate marched over, jumped onto the large rock and sat down next to the person.

"Why are you still up at this hour?" Hayate started the conversation.

"I have a lot on my mind…"

"Like what?" Hayate wondered curiously.

"Like, why does my own brother hates me."

Hayate burst out into a small laugh as he shook his head at the same time.

"You're really cute when you're angry." He then let out a light sigh, "You shouldn't even be doubting our relation by now, I could never hate you."

Ayane didn't respond and held a blank expression.

Hayate frowned at her, "Is there something else that's bothering you? Because if this about you failing the clan duties, then I will not apologize for doing my job."

"It doesn't matter…" Ayane responded with a hopeless sigh.

"You can talk to me." Hayate said softly.

"Like I said, it doesn't matter. The only way to even get acknowledge in this family is to break the rules and to cause trouble. The irony…"

Hayate's frown deepened…

"Is this about Kasumi again?"

"Of course it's about Kasumi. Everything revolves around that bitch." Ayane blurted in pure disgust.

"That's very mature, Ayane." Hayate stated in an irritated tone. He then took a deep breath to keep himself from losing his temper. He had to be a bigger person or otherwise it would only lead to verbal blow argument between them.

"At some point, you need to stop blaming Kasumi for everything for what Raidou started. If anything, Kasumi did us all a big favor by killing him. After what he did to mother, I would have killed him myself had I known. Enough is enough don't you think? We finally got our family back…"

Ayane rolled her eyes, "You talk about it as if I'm part of this family…"

"Well, you are whether you want to accept it or not."

"I see how mother looks at me sometimes, like a monster child she wished she never had, I'm only a reminder of her failed past." Ayane clenched her teeth.

"Mother loves you Ayane, more than you realize. She is just as much the victim in this as you are…she had tried to get close to you, but you never let her in."

"Why are you always siding with them?!" She shouted unexpectedly.

Hayate raised his brow, "Them?"

Ayane quickly rose to her feet angrily, "This is exactly why I can't talk to you."

"What do you expect me to do, then? Why are you acting like this?" Hayate was confused at Ayane's sudden changed behavior.

"Just…just forget it, alright! I don't need this stupid family." Ayane then jumped off the rock and made her way out of there.

Hayate studied his sister as she walked away. Usually, he was the first to comfort Ayane but at that moment, he didn't even think Ayane deserved his kindness.

 **New York**

When Ryu opened the door to his apartment, it was dark inside. It was late so he figured that Irene had already gone to bed. He hung his jacket by the door and proceeded towards the living room first. But he was met by the sight of his wife peacefully asleep on the couch. He looked at her for a good moment. Ryu then walked closer and lowered himself beside her. There were used tissues scattered around the table and Irene's phone laid beside her. He suddenly felt guilty by how he had treated her for the past few days. Despite that he had reason to be angry, he hated ignoring and torturing Irene emotionally, but he was just so damn angry with her…

Ryu reached out his hand and gently removed a few strays of hair that covered Irene's face behind her ear, he left his fingers lingered, and then softly stroking her cheek with his thumb making a motion of circle as he studied her. His touch slowly woke Irene from her slumber. When she opened her eyes, Irene was startled and confused. She quickly rose into a sitting position and rubbed her tired eyes to make sure that she wasn't dreaming.

"Ryu?"

"Hi," He responded in a low voice.

Irene immediately wrapped her arms around Ryu tightly. He didn't respond much, it was like his whole body was a fist, hard and unyielding. Until seconds later, he softened and responded by wrapping his arms around squeezing her hard.

"I've missed you so much, it's been hell without you…" Irene whispered in a trembling voice and tears were sliding down her face. Irene paused, gasping, "I wish…"

Ryu knew what Irene wished for, she wished she could turn back time because he was thinking the same. He could hear her tears… he hadn't realized how much he had missed her too. But he didn't let her know, as it was suddenly a little difficult for him to say it out loud.

"Let's go to bed?" He whispered softly and kissed a spot underneath her ear.

Irene nodded against his shoulder, overwhelmed with happiness. They had a lot to figure out but right now she was just glad that he was home. Ryu then lifted tired Irene in his arms and laid her in their bed. He soon crawled beside her. In bed, they only stared at each other, no words were exchanged. Irene reach her hand placing it softly on his cheek. He lifted his and placed it on top of her hand, caressing each other. They were letting the silent speaking for them instead. Then a couple of tears raced down Irene's eyes.

"I hate seeing you cry…" He said in a low whisper.

His words creeping warmth into her skin, she could feel his affection again. She had lost hope but now Irene felt like they might be okay…

Ryu drew Irene closer and tighter into him. He wanted to comfort her. They stayed that way until they both drifted off to sleep.

…

A few weeks later, Hayate was back in Tokyo. He didn't like the way he left thing with Kasumi. But as he was walking, he spotted Hitomi again from across the street who seemed busy handing out her karate dojo flyers to random pedestrians. He stopped and watched for a moment. Hitomi suddenly looked his way and their gazes met. She sent Hayate a gentle smile, waving at him at the same time.

Hayate shoved his hands back inside his pockets, turned away and left the area.

Disappointed, Hitomi's smile was replaced with a confuse expression. She stared his way until he disappeared from her sight.

Kasumi looked rather surprised when she opened the door at the unexpected visit. The tension of their last encounter quickly caught back to them. But Kasumi was still happy to see her brother and let him inside.

"You seriously need to start letting me know when you plan on coming to visit. As if, you're assuming I'm always available or something…"

Hayate raised a brow slightly, "But you usually don't have any plans by evening time."

Kasumi felt offended but at the same time, Hayate was right and that annoyed her. "That was blunt of you..."

Something else was strange to Hayate all sudden, he peeked and tilted toward the living room. He saw Tenzou lying on the floor coloring. Usually, his nephew would get super excited when he came to visit and greeted him with a bear hug. They hadn't seen each other in a while and Tenzou didn't even look at him.

"Well, somebody doesn't miss me…" He said loudly in a sarcastic tone. Still Tenzou gave no reaction.

Kasumi let out a long sigh at that, "He's been distant with me too. It's been like this these past weeks…he just, close himself off sometimes."

"What's the matter?"

Kasumi let out another sigh. "I'll tell you about it later, if you are staying for dinner?"

"No, I'm just stopping by to say sorry for how I acted last time."

Kasumi's warm gaze set on her brother. "It's okay Hayate, we all have a bad day." She smiled, then Kasumi frowned curiously... "But, can I ask what was it that triggered you that day?"

He looked hesitant at her, then gaze falling to the ground considering whether to give a response, "Like you said, I was just having a bad day…" that was all he could say. He didn't really answer the question.

There was a brief silent between them.

"So, how is everyone back home?"

Hayate looked back at his sister, "I think father is setting me up with someone…that old man is slowly getting on my last nerve."

Even though Hayate was serious, Kasumi couldn't hold in her giggle and burst into a small laugh.

"As if you would go along with that, but hey…look at the bright side, she might be really pretty." Kasumi teased.

"I'm not interested." Hayate said sternly.

"Why? Have you got someone else set in your mind?"

He took his time before responding, "Maybe..."

Not that Kasumi was surprised by his response as she figured that her brother deep down was probably still into Hitomi. But she didn't further force the subject on him.

"Did Ryu say anything about me?" Hayate then wondered out of curiosity and changed the subject.

"Nothing much, but I'm nervous for you…" Kasumi replied.

"Why?"

"Well, you did piss Hayabusa off big time. Hayate, I don't want you two to get into fights..."

Hayate's shoulders fall at ease, "I'm not interested in fighting him." He almost wanted to roll his eyes.

"So, you're going to talk to him, then?"

"I don't see how talking would solve anything either…"

"You have to apologize at least," Kasumi proceeded.

"Why would I apologize for something I have no regret of?" His voice raised a notch.

That baffled Kasumi a little, "Because he's your best friend?"

Hayate made a funny noise to that, almost as if she had said something very provoking.

She looked at her brother strange. Kasumi thought it looked suspiciously like her brother had something to say if she had read his expression right, wondering if perhaps it was something difficult for him to bring up. He clearly knows what guilt felt like since he came all the way just to apologize to her, but once it was about Irene or Ryu, he turned pure cold. It puzzled Kasumi slightly.

"I should be going," Hayate stated.

"Alright, but next time you stay for dinner?" Kasumi smiled.

"Yeah."

Once Hayate stepped outside the door, Kasumi had one more curious thing to ask, "Hayate…?"

He turned back to face her, "What is it?"

"Do you…think about her?"

"Who?" Hayate wasn't sure who Kasumi was implying too.

"Kureha…" She said in soft voice.

"No, I have blocked her from my memories." He didn't even think twice about his answer.

Another cold response thought Kasumi, and she didn't think it was possible to block an important person completely from the memories. But she didn't state any more of her opinion, if she had replied with what was on her mind, Hayate would have snapped at her. So, she backed off and left it alone.

"Well, see you soon." Kasumi smiled, and Hayate responded with a light nod followed with a questionable frown.

Kasumi closed the door with a sigh. She then turned toward Tenzou who seemed to be lost in his drawing world. She walked over and lowered down beside him.

"What are you drawing?" Kasumi carefully strike a conversation.

Tenzou paused and looked at his mother. Then he looked back at his drawing, put the crayons down and showed his mother what had drawn. Kasumi studied it with a gentle smile grace her lips.

"That's our family," The smile on her lips faded a little at the drawing that broke her heart at the sight of Takeshi in the drawing. She hadn't heard from him ever since he left. She had lost hope that he would return to them this time around.

Tenzou decided to explain his mother what he had drawn.

"That's me, that's you, and that's Ryu." He pointed happily.

Kasumi's eyes grew wide in surprised. They were all holding hands and there was a cute looking house behind them. Looking at the drawing gave Kasumi mix emotions.

"Tenzou, what do you think of Ryu?"

Tenzou picked up his crayons and began coloring again. "We have the same eyes…"

Kasumi only smiled at that.

"Mama?" He tilted back at her.

"What is it?"

He looked hesitant at first, somewhat a little anxious.

"Can you, write something for me? I want to show Ryu next time he comes back." He hadn't learned how to write yet.

"Sure," Kasumi happily replied.

Tenzou became even more excited as he lifted a blank drawing paper off the floor along with a crayon and handed it to his mother. Kasumi took them and prepared to write whatever he wanted.

"What do you want me to write?" She asked eagerly.

"You can write…" He thought for a moment, " _Be my papa_." Something in his eyes brightened.

Kasumi's heart pounded harder without any warning. That was unlike her son, and he had only met Ryu twice…how come he got so attached? Kasumi wondered to herself in mystery. A gentle sigh escaped her when she looked at her smiling son waiting for her to write the words down. But Kasumi put the paper and the crayon aside.

"Come here," She motioned for her son to get closer to her. When he did, Kasumi lifted her hand placing it softly on his cheek.

"I don't think you have to worry about that…" She assured in a gentle voice.

"Did I say something wrong?" Tenzou looked confused.

Kasumi drew him into a hug. "No, I can promise you that there's nothing Ryu would rather want than to be your father, and one day you will understand why." She assured once again. Tenzou was still looking at her confused. Then she held Tenzou tighter and placed several teasing kisses all over his cheek making him giggle.

"You're squeezing me..." He complained.

"I'm sorry, but I can't help it as you're just so cute."

"Mama, stop…I'm not a baby." Tenzou complained again.

"Please don't grow up." Kasumi kept on teasing while Tenzou couldn't contain himself from giggling at her tease.

…

Five minutes into the walk of a busy Tokyo street, Hayate took the same route where he last saw Hitomi. Hayate paused in a good distance once he spotted her again. Month ago, he would have done anything to get her attention and to make her go out with him. That has changed all sudden. But what was he afraid of? Why was he holding back so strongly? Hayate wondered to himself.

 _Hitomi is just a friend after all…_

When a cold winter wind flew by, one of the flyer in Hitomi's hand flew away. It landed in front of Hayate's feet. He looked at it, and then bent down to pick it up. Hitomi was looking his way but she didn't make any movement toward him nor was she smiling like she usually would when seeing Hayate. She looked rather reluctant at him. Hayate let out a sigh before he led his feet over to Hitomi. She kept looking his way until they were standing inches from each other.

Hayate then handed the flyer back and Hitomi took it.

"Thanks." Even then she still didn't smile.

As a ninja, reading signs and body language was in Hayate's main expertise. He knew he had made her feel rejected and confused. Hitomi continued to hand out flyers to random pedestrian, but paused when she noticed Hayate was still standing next to her...

"Why are you still here?" She asked.

"I'm trying to find the courage to ask if you want to go grab coffee or something…"

"Are you doing this out of guilt?" The bluntness of her words made Hayate frowned strangely.

"What made you think that?"

Hitomi turned to face him. "You're not allowed to mingle with someone like me. You made that clear to me back in Germany, remember? and I don't want to get you into trouble."

Almost a minute later, she looked back at Hayate whose gaze still locked on her. Hitomi looked puzzled, wondering why he was still there and looking at her annoyingly long.

"I'm going to make a fool of myself until you say yes." Hayate blurted.

Hitomi tried to keep in her giggle, "That's harassment..."

After another brief silence, a giggle escaped her, "Silly Hayate." She shook her head and he smiled charmingly at her.

"I was thinking to head home and fix dinner…do you want to join me?"

"Okay." Hayate softly replied.

A few minutes into their walk, they barely exchanged words. Hitomi studied Hayate briefly. He looked rather aloof.

"You know, I didn't think I would ever see you again." Hitomi spoke to fill the silence.

He looked at her sideways. "Strange, isn't it?" He smiled but it wasn't as genuine as it appeared.

"How did you end up living in Tokyo?" Hayate wondered.

"After college, I was a little lost. My father wanted to open his second dojo in Tokyo in honor to my mother. He had other people in mind that was supposed to run it for him but I convinced him to let me do it instead. It wasn't an easy task since he didn't want to let me go, but I was ready to be independent and to prove myself."

"Right, and the dojo is going well?"

Hitomi shrugged. "It's going alright, I can't afford more assistants than what I have now but hopefully to expand our classes and hire more instructors in the future once things run more smoothly."

"It surely brings back memories," He replied. "I sometimes miss teaching Karate…"

Hitomi smiled at the memories herself. "Well, you can quit being a ninja and come work with me at the dojo?" She looked at him with a teasing smile.

He faintly smiled to her charm, "If only it was that easy."

Hayate then took a quick observation at the surrounding. The area was rather quiet, it looked like a place where trouble mostly lurked… no cars, no pedestrian, no dogs or even cats in sight. Down at the end of the street, a motel neon light flashed on.

"You live in this area?" Hayate asked.

Hitomi nodded, "My apartment is not far from here."

Hayate wasn't so fond at the idea of Hitomi living in the dangerous part of the town. As they reached the end of the street corner, there was a guy leaning onto the motel wall with his arms crossed over his chest, wearing a hat, looking their way from a good distance.

"Not him again…" Hitomi rolled her eyes.

"Do you know him?"

"No, but I see him often just standing around glaring at me. I might have a stalker on my hand but as long he keeps his distance, I won't hurt him." Hitomi explained.

The casualness in the way Hitomi was saying thing left Hayate feeling uneasy. He knew that Hitomi could handle herself since she was black belt, but still he couldn't help but get overprotective of the people he cared about.

When they passed by the man, Hayate cringed his eyes slightly to study the man's appearance but he couldn't see much due his hat lowered, covering half of his face.

Soon after, they arrived at the apartment complex. Hitomi lived on the top floor.

"Stupid door…" The door wouldn't budge and she tried a few more times.

Hayate only observed questionably.

"Do you need help?" Hayate offered.

"I got it… it's just a stubborn door." Hitomi held her pride and let out a tiny giggle.

Then in frustration, Hitomi kicked the door startling Hayate a little. She inserted the key again and this time, it worked. With a smile, Hitomi invited Hayate inside.

"It's not much, but this is the best I can afford right now."

"It looks charming enough." Hayate stated as he studied the small apartment. Then he followed her to the kitchen.

Hitomi wasted no time and opened her refrigerator to look for the ingredients to start on dinner. But sighed loudly almost like a groan…then she looked at the bottom in the freezer and found frozen pizza.

"This is embarrassing but I forgot to go to the market today, is pizza okay?" She lifted the box and showed Hayate.

"Pizza is fine." Hayate softly replied.

Hitomi prepared the oven and shoved the pizza inside. Then she leaned on the kitchen counter facing Hayate who was leaning on the little dining table with his arms folded over his chest.

"So, tell me about yourself, Hayate."

Hayate frowned at the question at first.

"I mean, I only knew you as Ein…"

"There's not much to tell, I'm not the type of person you really want to get to know." He stated bluntly.

"Is it because due to what you do?"

"You can say that, we are not supposed to exist. Modern society consider us criminals." Hayate casually replied.

"Should I be afraid of you, then?" Hitomi frowned rather curious.

"We only fight evil, are you evil Hitomi?" Hayate raised a brow slightly.

Hitomi laughed, "Do I look evil?"

"Looks can be deceiving, usually the cutest are the most dangerous."

His words made her cheeks warm. Then Hayate realized he sounded like he was flirting and cleared his throat awkwardly…

"Even if I was evil, I think I can handle you easily. You used to lose miserably in our sparring match, remember?"

"I let you win." Hayate replied, a little cocky.

"Seriously?" She looked annoyed. "There I was, thinking I was unbeatable…thanks."

"You are strong, Hitomi. I never doubted your ability in a fight. But I was stronger." He slightly mocked to tease.

Hitomi kept her eyes on him, "Hmm…"

"What?" Hayate asked curious.

"You're, nothing like him…" Her expression was suddenly serious.

"Like, who?"

"Ein…"

"Is that a bad thing?" Hayate wondered more.

"No, you have more personality…more charming, while Ein was um…weird."

He made a funny sound, "Thanks."

"No no, I didn't mean it in a bad way. I like weird, but I guess Ein had a good reason since he had amnesia and confused most of the time." Hitomi sighed, "I didn't make that sound much better either did I…?"

That statement left Hayate looking at Hitomi for a moment. Many old memories were suddenly flashing through his mind in a speed. Being Ein was the happiest time in his life. It was simple, he had a job at the dojo and on his free time he got to be with Hitomi. They did everything together, and for over a year, she was his only friend during the most confusing time in his life.

His life as a ninja, he had a happy childhood, a loving family. But he was also burden with the task that was put on him as the heir of the Mugen Tenshin ninja clan. He never could catch a break and be normal. Everybody had great expectations of him…and now, being with Hitomi again was only a reminder that he could never have that sense of normality. A life free from shinobi duties.

Hitomi then double checked the pizza in the oven. While she was busy taking out and slicing them into pieces, Hayate marched to her kitchen window out of curiosity and peeked out. Just to see the surrounding of the neighborhood. He pushed the blinders open slightly with his fingers and looked around. His eyes wide and his expression tensed when he spotted the mysterious hat man standing in the middle of the street, glaring his way. That was too much of a coincidence and he couldn't help feeling eerie about the man's presence.

Hitomi's voice made him turned away from the window and Hayate adjusted back into his casualness. He didn't want to worry Hitomi. The pizza in a huge plate with two soda cans for each and then both took their seats at the tiny round table in the kitchen.

A few minutes into their bite, Hayate broke the silence this time.

"Do you think about me all this time?"

It was blunt and caught Hitomi off guard almost choking on her pizza bite.

Hayate enjoyed that, as he smiled teasingly. Hitomi noticed that he did it on purpose. Before responding, Hitomi took a sip of her soda to clear her throat.

"Well, I don't always think about you. I did take a break every once in a while, like for my exams or karate classes."

"Liar." Hayate casually responded as he took another bite.

"Excuse me?"

He set his eyes softly on hers, "I bet you thought about me even during your exams and karate classes."

"Hmm, perhaps that's why I failed my classes a few times." A tiny giggle escaped Hitomi.

Hayate smiled at her charm, as they had always had an undeniable chemistry. It was natural despite he was no longer Ein.

"You shouldn't tease like that Hayate, what if I have a boyfriend."

"Do you?" Hayate forwardly asked.

"Well…I…"

"You took too long to answer, so you are either in a complicated relationship or interested in someone." Hayate confidently stated as he took a sip of his soda. Hitomi found herself looking at him, but held her silence.

Hayate tilted. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to be nosey."

"No, that's okay." Hitomi faintly smiled. "How about you, Hayate? Are you with someone or interested in anyone?" She felt comfortable enough to ask him the same question since he had asked her first.

Hayate rubbed the back of his neck and took his time before answering, "You can say that...but it's very complicated."

Hitomi did nothing but to look at him again…wondering who was the lucky girl who manage to catch his special attention. A little jealousy crawled inside her heart.

After dinner, Hayate helped Hitomi clean the table but Hitomi insisted she could do it herself since Hayate was her guest after all. It was a natural habit to him because back in Germany, Hayate often helped Hitomi with making dinner and then clean the kitchen afterwards. But he didn't argue, and out of curiosity he walked over to the window again, pushed open the blinders slightly to peek out.

"It's really nice that we could spent a little time…" Hitomi paused at the sound of the door being closed. She looked around her, and Hayate was gone...

Outside, Hayate looked to his left and right frantically looking for someone. He saw a shoulder turning into a corner and he rushed towards it.

"Hey!" Hayate shouted to get the person's attention.

The manly tall figure paused in his steps but he didn't turn around and kept his back facing Hayate.

"Why are you stalking my friend?" Hayate asked strictly.

The man only turned his head sideways but still held his silence which puzzled Hayate even more. He tried to get a better peek at his face but it was covered with the shadow of the hat.

"I'm not interested in your friend." He suddenly blurted in a deep voice.

"Your action said otherwise. Stay the hell away from her or…"

The man let out a tiny eerie laugh of mockery. "Threats don't work on us, Hayate."

Hayate's heart raised to his throat with his entire body stiffened once he heard his name out of the stranger's mouth, Hayate had his guard up. Now he was certain that it was far from a coincidence. Hayate kept his cool despite getting very concern.

"Who are you?" Hayate asked, staring strict at the man with his fiery brown eyes.

"Don't worry about that, I'm sure we will meet again soon. Perhaps next time, I'll even bring you a gift." The man smirked.

Hayate's heart was beating uncontrollably fast. _What does he want?_ _Why is he_ _being targeted?_ He had many enemies but he couldn't put a finger on which one of them standing in front of him. Why was he lurking around in the area where Hitomi and Kasumi were living?

Then in a lightning speed, three star shuriken flew towards Hayate, but with even faster reaction, Hayate did a double flipped to avoid them. It flew inches by his face. He barely dodged it when another one was thrown toward him again. Just after Hayate landed back on his feet, another incoming shuriken sliced his left arm. Hayate hardly reacted to the pain. He then readied himself for a fight when the man had suddenly disappeared. Everything was happening in the blink of an eye, leaving Hayate confused. He looked around like a maniac…but nobody was insight. Hayate stood still for a full minute, trying to comprehend the incident with a deep frown striking his face. The sudden flickering street light nearby startled Hayate. He was beyond paranoid at this point.

…

Ryu looked at the clock in his antique shop and it was almost midnight. Ever since his return, he had been working extra hours just to avoid coming home early. He and Irene were trying their best to make it work after everything but the tension was still thick around the air in their home. They needed to take it slow. But it was time for him to head home. Minutes later, Ryu turned the sign inside his shop from open to close and grabbed the key to lock the front door.

Ryu made a noise then, a sort of angry sigh and closed his eyes when a certain nerve strike his entire body at the sight of Hayate leaning on the wall to his shop.


	15. Chapter 15

After Ryu had closed his shop, he turned to Hayate who only looked at him sideway while still leaning against the wall. Neither said anything for a long moment and the tension was thick enough around the air to be cut through by a knife.

"What do you want?" Ryu spoke first with an icy tone.

"I need to talk to you," Hayate responded in a low concerning voice.

A frown wrinkled on Ryu's forehead, then his gaze tracked to Hayate's arm. His sleeve was slightly cut and there was blood stain on it. He didn't ask any question despite being curious about the freshly looking wound.

"Alright, I am curious enough to know what your excuse was for trying to ruin my marriage."

Hayate pushed himself off the wall and marched a few steps closer to Ryu but paused in a good distance. Now they were standing face to face, "I didn't come to New York at this hour to talk about that. I have a bigger issue on my hand to worry about right now."

Ryu was dumbfounded and anger was quickly registered across his face. Despite the intimidating stare from Ryu, Hayate wasted no time and began explaining his reason for being there. "I ran into someone a moment ago, an enemy and I might have an idea of who he is, but…"

"Let me guess, you want my help?" Ryu interrupted. Though from his observation Hayate looked scared and whoever it was must have spooked him.

"I wouldn't have come to you if I didn't think it was serious enough."

Ryu let a hand scraped down his weary face, "and why should I care about what will happen to you?"

"Because this concern Kasumi too," Hayate replied.

"Deal with your own problems, Hayate."

"You're not hearing me!" Hayate suddenly shouted, "You're just going to betray my sister again?"

"Betray? maybe you've forgotten the length I took to protect your sister."

"Right, you mean by taking advantage of her innocence? played with her emotions? making Kasumi believe that she meant something to you and then abandoned her with a child so you could play house with the wonderful Irene across the world? Did I forget to thank you, Ryu?"

More anger clouded Ryu's face. "Such arrogance, are you listening to yourself?" He pointed at Hayate, "You of all people should not lecture anyone about emotion."

Hayate said nothing but held his gaze at Ryu strict.

"Maybe you should tell Kasumi what truly happened back then and how her precious brother wanted to betray her in the worse way possible." Ryu proceeded.

"What are you talking about?" Hayate wondered with a confused frown.

"You know exactly what I'm talking about. You couldn't deal with a traitor so you didn't want your hands dirty. I wonder what Kasumi would think about you if she had known the truth…"

"I'm not that kind of person anymore." Hayate lowly growled while giving Ryu a warning sort of look.

"You're not fooling anyone. The only reason Kasumi is still alive is because I never went along with your plan. I convinced you to listen to me instead but that doesn't mean you've changed."

"You're wrong…" Hayate objected once more.

Intense silence surrounded the air between them.

"I'm not going to help you and I'm not going to let you ruin my marriage either. Stay the hell away from me." Ryu turned to leave.

Frustration clouded Hayate's face when he couldn't convince Ryu to hear him. "You're just going to let what happened to Kureha happens to Kasumi too?"

That made Ryu paused in his steps, only briefly, then continued walking.

"If anything happens to Kasumi, your son will have to grow up without his mother and you know what that's like." Hayate further shouted. He hated showing desperation to anyone even to Ryu.

But every time Hayate opened his mouth, Ryu got angrier. He fully stopped in his tracks at the last made statement, turned around and made his way back toward Hayate. Hayate didn't know what to expect when he saw rage filling Ryu's eyes. The next thing he knew he laid on the ground holding his jaw while wincing in pain and blood pooled in his mouth as he gagged horribly. Ryu only stood glaring at him afterward and if eyes could kill, blood suddenly was spurting fast through his vein. He felt a sense of satisfaction and he wanted to knock Hayate's light out at that point. The only thing that was holding him back was the thought of his son.

Hayate gathered himself but kept his cool despite just being punched to the ground.

"Have you once paid her respect? Kureha meant that much to you, right?" Ryu proceeded, his face was red with suppressed rage. Neither spoke for a moment but intensely stared at each other. Ryu gave Hayate one final furious glance before turning away once again to leave.

Hayate's hand that was curled into a ball of fist relaxed once Ryu was no longer in sight. His knuckles turned white from clenching his fist too hard. For a moment, he thought Ryu was about to do more damage to him and that he would have to defend himself, but he knew it was a long shot. The intense pain from his jaw caught back to him as he placed a hand on it.

...

The following morning Ryu got up before Irene did and prepared himself a cup of coffee. He looked down at his knuckles with a hopeless sigh. He had only gotten two hours of sleep. What Hayate said made him think…he didn't really get much information due to him being too furious to even hear Hayate out but he believed that Hayate's concern was genuine.

"Good morning," Irene greeted once she entered the kitchen.

"Morning," Ryu responded slowly sipping on his coffee.

Irene poured her own when her eyes trailed to Ryu's hand. A little frown appeared on her forehead at the sight of his bruised knuckles, "What happened to your hand?"

"I hurt myself while training," He said.

Irene didn't believe him somehow but if he had to lie about the smallest thing, that means he didn't want to talk about it with her and so she just let it go. It was hard enough for Irene to even have a normal conversation with her own husband after the whole incident which he still hadn't told her that he has a son. Every time she wanted to bring it up, she had to bite her tongue because she wanted Ryu to tell her himself. She wanted that honesty coming from him and it was a torment that she had to pretend as if she didn't know. The last time she forced Ryu to talk about things, it almost ended their marriage. Everything was just swept under a rug ever since. It was beginning to feel like a losing battle for Irene, but she promised herself to be patient as she hadn't got much choice…she did betray his trust. Though, the longer time she gave him, the more she felt like he was slipping further away. They were just going through the motion and avoiding what needed to be addressed, just like how they've always done. Irene began to see a pattern now.

"Right…" She forced another faint smile followed with a light sigh. "How about we drive to the mountain this weekend, away from everything and spent quality time just the two of us? We haven't done that in a while…" Irene then suggested, as they needed to go out and warm up to each other again.

Ryu placed his cup on the counter, "I have to be in Japan this weekend."

"Oh, I see." Her stomach felt cramped at the thought of Ryu might be spending time with Kasumi. "Clan business?" Irene asked ahead despite the suspicion.

He was slow with his response, "Yeah."

"Alright, I guess, I'll miss you until Monday… I have to go to work." Irene pretended to play along but inside, her heart was torn into pieces.

Ryu said nothing more but to look at Irene disappearing out the door. He hated what they had become…

 **Tokyo, Japan**

Kasumi sat on her bed staring at the picture frame of her and Takeshi on her nightstand. She lifted it to look closer. Warm memories rushed through her mind remembering their times together…her fingers gently brushed over the frame. Something else caught Kasumi's eyes on the floor ahead of her. She put the picture frame back on the nightstand and walked over to pick up the wedding band that she had thrown on the wall in anger after Takeshi left her.

She studied it closely while brushing off the dust around it. A shuddery sigh escaped her. After a brief of thinking, she went to find a box. The first thing Kasumi did was to take some picture frames of her and Takeshi she could find in her apartment and began putting them one by one inside the box. It was the perfect timing for her to do it while Tenzou was away on his karate class. Suddenly, it felt heavier inside her chest. It hurt her to remove their memories but it hurt her even more to see them everywhere knowing Takeshi was no longer part of their lives. It was her way of letting go and accepting her reality. While cleaning, Kasumi did her best to hold back her tears.

The doorbell rang startling Kasumi. Her lips parted slightly at the pleasant surprise when she opened the door, "Hayabusa…"

"I'm sorry to show up like this, I forgot to ask for your number the last time I was here."

"It's fine, please come in." Kasumi responded, she then quickly marched back to the living room to put the box aside so he wouldn't see what she had been up to…it was too personal for her.

"I'll go fix something to drink and please make yourself at home." Kasumi said as she disappeared into the kitchen.

As Ryu made his way to the living room, his eyes tracked to a wooden picture frame that laid on the floor a few inches away from him. Kasumi must have forgotten to put it away. He lifted it up close. A black-haired man held the newborn Tenzou in his arms, gazing down into the baby's face with a delighted smile. Then he noticed the empty spots on the wall where the family pictures used to be. He remembered as he had studied some of those pictures when he was there last time. Soon Kasumi came back out with a tray of hot beverages. Ryu quickly put the frame away before Kasumi could catch him looking at it. He didn't want to look nosey as it wasn't his business. He proceeded toward the couch instead and Kasumi joined him.

"So, how's life back in New York?" Kasumi was curious about Irene after the situation and if Ryu had spoken to her about Tenzou but she didn't want to make it too forward right away.

He looked at her sideways, "Do you sometimes feel that everything is just as escape?" he asked her instead.

Not really the answer to her question and unsure of what the question really implied, "What do you mean?"

He looked back at the cup of beverage in his hand looking a little hesitant, "Forget I ask that…I didn't know where I was going with it."

Kasumi then shrugged it off as he wished.

"Where is Tenzou?" Ryu wondered.

"He's at his weekend karate class." Kasumi peeked at the clock, "I have to go pick him up soon." But something else suddenly came to her mind. "If you want Hayabusa, you could pick him up instead? I know he will be happy to see you." Kasumi figured it would be a nice little surprise for Tenzou.

Ryu was unprepared, as he didn't think he was ready to be around Tenzou on his own even though it was just a quick request. The reluctant look on his face left Kasumi regretting for asking as she shouldn't have thrown Ryu out there since he probably hadn't fully digested the fact that he is a father yet. "You know what, I will go pick Tenz…"

"I don't mind." Ryu interrupted.

"Are you sure?" Kasumi reassured and he nodded light as the response.

After she had explained him where it was, Ryu then headed toward the dojo nearby. When he entered the class, there were a few other parents there who were waiting for their own kids. But the children were still on their last part of the training. Curious, Ryu looked for Tenzou but he didn't see him in the bunch. He looked around a little more and spotted a seemingly upset boy sitting on the sideline. It made him wonder why Tenzou wasn't participating.

A few minutes later, the class was dismissed. The other children made their way out with their parents. Tenzou's instructor motioned for Tenzou to follow her but paused when she couldn't find his mother. She looked around for Kasumi. Ryu instead moved toward them but Tenzou beat him to it. He ran towards Ryu in high excitement and jumped hug him unexpectedly, cracking a loving smile on Ryu's lips.

"Ryu, you're back!" He greeted.

"I'm happy to see you too."

He then noticed a fresh cut on Tenzou's face and frowned at it. That's when the instructor approached Ryu to explain. He put Tenzou back down.

"Hi, are you Tenzou's fath…"

"I'm a good friend of Tenzou's mother, she gave me the permission to pick him up." Ryu felt the rushed to correct the instructor because he didn't want Tenzou to know who he was yet and confuse him at the spot.

"Oh right, I'm Hitomi." She introduced herself in politeness. "I guess I could talk to you instead and you could inform his mother later."

"Tenzou, why don't you go get your bag..." Hitomi smiled and Tenzou ran back to pick it up. She didn't want to embarrass him and put him on the spot. Ryu waited for what she had to say.

"During the sparring match, Tenzou got out of control that we had to stop him from injuring his opponent. He refused to listen for the rest of the training that we had no choice to separate him."

"I see," Ryu was saddened to hear. "How is he doing in class otherwise?"

"He's a quick learner and there are some fighting moves he randomly does sometimes that we hadn't taught him," Hitomi added.

Tenzou soon came back to them and ready to leave. As they were about to excuse themselves, Ryu found Hitomi staring at him rather oddly.

"Ryu…" She said frowning at him.

"Yes?" Ryu answered.

"That night, you were that guy who he left with…" Hitomi mumbled.

"I'm sorry, what?"

She snapped back to her senses, "Nothing…I got lost in my own thoughts for a moment. See you next week Tenzou." She smiled.

"Bye miss Hitomi." Tenzou waved.

As they made their way out, Ryu turned and looked at Hitomi with wondering eyes. Tenzou's tiny hand reached and held Ryu's just like how he would do with Kasumi. That felt strange to Ryu, everything was a new feeling for him and he realized how each moment counts. Ever since they left the building, neither of them exchanged words. Now and then on the way, Ryu peeked down at his son…he looked sad to him.

Tenzou slowed down his pace and paused when they reach the city park. He stood and gazed towards the playground.

"What is it? Do you want to go to the playground?" Ryu asked, trying to guess his mind but Tenzou shook his head. He instead lowered himself down on the park bench.

Ryu wasn't sure what was happening but he went over and lowered in front of Tenzou, "What's wrong?"

"I don't want to go home…" Tenzou responded.

"Why not?"

"Mama will yell at me again…I was bad today." He said in a low nervous tone.

"What happened?"

"They always make fun of me when nobody is looking." He tried to proceed through his sudden tears that escaped his sad eyes, "I don't look like them."

"Is it because of your eyes?"

Tenzou nodded. It hurt Ryu to see his Tenzou being this sad and he didn't really know what to say to make him feel better. He was in the age where he shouldn't be dealing with the nonsense. He reached his hand and wiped his son's tears.

"It's good to be different. I have the same eyes as you and one day someone will appreciate you for who you are, I know that much." Ryu said as assurance and comfort.

"Mama said that too."

"Because it's the truth, so you hang in there, okay?" Ryu's gaze softened in compassion.

A miracle happened and Tenzou's lips curled into a smile. It felt good to Ryu that he could make that happened. Only seconds later, Tenzou's expression changed back to sadness.

"Then…why didn't my papa accept me? Mama said he won't come back…"

That set Ryu way off guard. Tenzou was looking at him with a wondering eyes desperate for an answer.

"Um, adults sometimes…have problems." He sighed before continued, "But you must know that it wasn't because of you." Ryu's voice was so soft and gentle. It wasn't much of comfort he thought.

"I'm ready to go home now," as he rose from the bench he paused and thought for a second. "Can I please do one thing before we go home?" He asked for permission.

"What is it?"

Tenzou unzipped his bag and pulled something out of it, a little see through plastic bag with ripped bread crumps in it. "I want to feed the pigeons over there." He pointed towards them.

"Sure, but let's make it quick before your mother starts to worry."

A bright smile lit up Tenzou's face and he ran towards the pigeons while Ryu followed. He was laughing happily. He threw the crumps all around him attracting more pigeons to surround him. Ryu observed with a proud smile. That was all he needed, to see his son happy. Something about that gave him a sense of healing. Almost as if nothing else mattered than Tenzou's happiness.

A few minutes later, Tenzou marched back to Ryu and took his hand to start heading back to the apartment.

"Ryu, can you fight?" He asked on the way.

"I don't want to brag but I'm very good at fighting." He responded in a slight tease.

"You are?" Tenzou was pleasantly surprise, "My uncle can fight too."

"I'm sure he can," Ryu raised a brow.

"Do you know my uncle?" Tenzou randomly asked.

"A little too well I'm afraid."

Tenzou suddenly released Ryu's hand and ran ahead, threw his bag onto the ground and placed himself into a fighting stance, challenging Ryu with a serious expression.

It made Ryu chuckled of how cute that was, "Are you sure you want to face me?"

Tenzou nodded. Ryu wasn't sure if he should encourage but he wanted to see what Tenzou had learned.

"Alright, show me what you've got." Ryu responded with his hand motioned forward signing his tiny opponent to start attacking.

Tenzou fearlessly ran forward and began throwing some firm punches but Ryu dodge with ease. He barely had to move as he only used one hand to block all the incoming attack. Tenzou added more moves and as bad as he was failing he was still very determined. As for his final desperate attempt to hit Ryu, Tenzou did a roundhouse kick causing Ryu to use both hands to cross block the kick. He carefully countered with one move that sent Tenzou laying to the ground. Ryu then gave his final attack, the tickling blow that made Tenzou laughed in torture.

"How are you going to block this?" Ryu teased.

Tenzou begged for him to stop and Ryu soon released him, leaving both laughing happily at the after effect.

"If we don't go now, your mother will start yelling at me too." He reminded. Tenzou lifted his arms wanting to be lift up, Ryu gladly did. It wasn't long before Tenzou rested his head on Ryu's shoulder and fully relaxed. He seemed tired all sudden.

At another corner Hayate was on the way to Kasumi. He needed to talk to her about something, more like to warn her about the danger lurking around the area so she could at least be aware. He had already sent Ayane to investigate. When Hayate arrived at the complex his feet abruptly stopped from taking another step forward at the sight of Ryu walking inside carrying sleepy Tenzou. Hayate decided to not approach Kasumi's home, afraid to get into a fight with Ryu as their situation was still too intense. Since Ryu was around, at least he could feel safe knowing Kasumi wasn't alone if anything were to happen. He felt the paranoia attacking his conscience but he couldn't help it. Better safe than sorry.

There was no point of him hanging around the city, Hayate then left in a hurry as he had a lot to do. He noticed someone familiar walking towards him.

"Hayate?"

"Not now, Hitomi." Hayate walked pass her and disappeared without looking back.

 **New York**

It was almost midnight. Irene laid herself down on her side of the king size bed and curled up under the softness of her sheet. Despite it was early winter, outside it was pouring cold rain splattering hard against her windows. Time had taken a different form for her with a lot of quiet moments. Ryu would start coming home late and sleep on the couch. There are days where he tried to be close to her and there are days where he'd be more distant from her. It was obvious that Ryu was struggling to deal with what had happened. He looked tormented and tired on daily basis. He barely talked to her, only a few words here and there. Irene felt beyond hopeless and lonely…he was her safety, her home, her everything…all of that were slowly fading and the sick feelings returned to her guts.

Irene sighed wearily. Unable to sleep, she sat up right on her bed. Then put on her night robe and went to the kitchen to get something to drink. She then marched to the large windows surrounding her living room to watch the rainy view with a glass of wine in her hand. That usually eased up her mind and gather her emotions together. There weren't many pedestrians on the street below. The few that were looked like ants from her apartment. There was a person who had been standing at one spot for a while, if she focused closely, it looked like as if he was looking straight up at her… _unlikely…_ thought Irene, but out of curiosity Irene went to get her binoculars. She looked through it closely and in surprised, Irene quickly backed away from her window.

 _What the hell is he doing here at this hour…?_

Was she seeing thing? Irene looked out once more and this time she didn't move away and looked right back at him. Unable to leave the situation be, Irene put on her raining boots, her winter coat and ran down to the street. He looked at her approaching him from across the street. She looked left and right for cars and soon stood in front of him.

"Are you stalking me now?" Irene wondered in a ridiculous tone. "Why are you standing out here in the rain like a creep?"

He smirked. "Is it weird that it starting to turn me on when you insult me?"

To that, she rolled her eyes. "Just what the hell are you doing here, Hayate?"

"I know Ryu is not home, so I came to see you." He replied rather casual to her ears.

Irene then burst out into a laugh at how stupid Hayate sounded to her. Though he looked at her dead serious.

"Wait, you weren't joking...?" Now Irene was confused. She then let out a deep sigh as she looked up at the rainy sky while shivering due the cold air.

"I need to talk to you." Hayate said.

Their eyes met for a moment. Irene was giving it a thought and she couldn't help but being curious of why Hayate was acting strange and came all the way just to see her. She looked up to the sky again and they were both getting soaked from the rain.

"Well, we can't talk out here in this weather…" She then invited Hayate to her apartment. It better be good thought Irene.

…

Earlier that same night, they had dinner, spent a little time together and when bedtime comes, Kasumi helped Tenzou with brushing his teeth and the other normal night time routine while Ryu read him a bedtime story as he wanted Ryu to do it instead of Kasumi. Which Kasumi didn't mind at all, if anything it put a warm smile on her face to see the two bonding. She didn't expect Ryu to be so good with Tenzou…it was natural. Everything went smoother than usual. Afterward, Kasumi and Ryu had tea in the kitchen making conversations before their own bedtime.

"I wish you were here more often, Tenzou is easier to deal with when you're around." Kasumi stated in a slight tease.

"I've been very nervous about coming here." Ryu replied.

"I find it strange of how quickly he warmed up to you, as if he had known you all his life…but I'm glad." A warm smile stretched across Kasumi's lips.

"I'm not afraid of a lot of things but there are two things that scares me the most in this world and being a father is one of them."

"What you're feeling is normal, and it will take time Hayabusa but I think you'll be a great father. You're already so good with him."

Ryu faintly smiled as it felt good for him to get that acknowledgement from Kasumi somehow.

"So, what was the other thing you're scared of?" Kasumi frowned curious.

"Uh, well …" He didn't really want to tell.

"Oh right, the spiders." Kasumi hold her hand to cover her mouth before she could burst into a giggle.

Ryu felt an embarrassing blush taking on his cheeks, "You still remember that…?"

"Kind of hard to forget." Kasumi teased. "It's the same night we-" She immediately hush herself as why did she just bring that up so casually, she told herself in an embarrassment. "Never mind…"

Ryu didn't show any sign of awkwardness however, "Why did you leave that morning?" he asked rather forward.

That question made Kasumi's eyes grew wide, "Do you seriously want to talk about that?" she didn't think it was appropriate nor did she think it was relevant anymore.

All sudden, awkward silence filled the air around them. Neither spoke but took a few sips from their tea. A frown wrinkled Kasumi's forehead. She felt the urge to bring up something important but afraid to upset Ryu and ruined his day.

"So, are you staying in Tokyo for the weekend?"

"I haven't made up my mind," He replied.

"If you decide to stay, I've rearranged the guest room." She added with a light smile, but he didn't respond much.

Another silence fell on them…

"I do feel guilty, Hayabusa."

Ryu sighed, "I will slowly replace that empty void for Tenzou. I won't rush bonding with him and I don't want him to know who I am yet. Right now, Takeshi is the one he still knows as his father. I won't confuse him until the time is right."

"Funny you say that…" Kasumi responded. "Follow me for one second Hayabusa, I want to show you something."

Not sure what to expect, Ryu followed Kasumi to the living room. She took out some of Tenzou's drawings from under the coffee table. "Here," She handed him one of the drawing and Ryu frowned curiously as he took it.

He studied the drawing closely, "Is that…me?" he asked due to the similarity of his hair and green eyes in the drawing.

"That's us, as a family." Kasumi replied.

Ryu was still studying the drawing and Kasumi stared at his profile wondering what he was thinking. He looked serious. Kasumi then searched for another one, "Tenzou made this for you, but he changed his mind and didn't want to give it in the end."

He took the paper and read it, it was a drawing of a man holding a young child hand with a bright smile on their faces. Below there were a few words written in different colors…

 _Be my papa?_

It made Kasumi anxious all sudden, perhaps she shouldn't have showed him the drawings. It might scare Ryu away. But suddenly she saw a faint smile appeared on Ryu's lips. It made her smile too, reality hit Kasumi that her son will have his father in his life. She didn't think that it would ever come to this point. She was prepared to take the secret to her grave…and now she was happy things somehow turned out the way they did. However, there was still a lot she and Ryu need to agree on as parents. There were still some things that worry Kasumi.

But that conversation could wait. "Are you staying the night, Hayabusa?"

He turned to her, "I guess I can stay for another day."

Kasumi was glad to hear and so she excused herself to go get some pillows and blankets ready for the guest room.

Meanwhile, Ryu looked through Tenzou's interesting drawings. They were expressive and it gave him a sense of Tenzou's little mind. They all looked like normal kids drawing. One drawing however stood out slightly. Ryu paused at the one as he studied it a little closer…

Soon Kasumi came back out, "The room is ready and if there is anything you need, please let me know and make yourself comfortable."

"Thank you." He replied.

"Good night, then." Kasumi said as she turned to head to her own bedroom.

"Kasumi?"

"Yes?" She paused to look back at him.

"Your ex-husband…did he, regularly wear hat?"

That made Kasumi frowned as the question was too random. "Not really, it wasn't his thing nor part of his daily style. Why did you ask?"

He didn't really want to worry her over things that probably meant nothing. "It was a silly question, I don't know why I asked."

Kasumi's frown deepened but she didn't think much of it. "Alright, try get some rest Hayabusa. You will need your energy if you want to keep up with a hyper three-year-old tomorrow."

Ryu smiled. "I supposed so, good night."

Kasumi then disappeared inside her bedroom. But before turning in for the night, Ryu looked at the eerie looking drawing one more time.

…

 **Besweet:** So _sorry for the slow update. I have been on summer vacation to South Asia for a few months like I do every year on summertime. Thank you so much for the patience and I hope you still enjoy this story._

 _Another note, for those that don't know who Kureha is, she is a canon character from the Ninja Gaiden series. You can look her up for more information. She is also Momiji's big sister. I also mentioned her in chapter six._


	16. Chapter 16

Alone in her room, thick of the midst of silence, surrounded by everything that reminded her of Takeshi was a torment. Kasumi struggled to understand why he had left her this way. They had the perfect family and life… _where did it all go wrong?_ She asked herself. Maybe if she wasn't so _selfish_ where everything had to go her way, Takeshi would still be around. She couldn't help but blame herself. She kept hurting everyone who had done nothing but cared for her. Kasumi's feelings were often suppressed, busying herself with work and raising her son, but not dealing with her emotions was starting to take a toll on her. Nobody could be strong all the time, everybody crumbled occasionally. Her emotions overwhelmed her all sudden that she began softly sobbing under her sheet to release some of the tense pain inside her chest.

In the other room, Ryu also laid wide awake staring at the ceiling in the dark. He thought about Irene and how he had left her alone again. The distant between them had just grown farther. Now that he was far away from her, he missed her…he wondered what Irene was doing. Ryu lifted his phone from the nightstand wanting to say goodnight to his wife, but he ended up staring at the screen of his phone instead…he let out a heavy sigh and changed his mind. He gazed back at the ceiling.

His mind wandered back to a night many years ago. His clan were ambushed by an enemy clan. He wasn't in the village when the incident occurred but when he returned, it was too late…he stood frozen at the sight of his people laid dead everywhere, burning houses and the frantically scream that still haunted him until this day. Then he remembered _her_ face. Her eyes were begging him to save her but he just couldn't move, instead, he watched her die. Ryu felt like he died too that night. He didn't know what had happened to him but the day after, while Momiji was healing his injuries, he saw her tears dripping down her face uncontrollably. He knew then that it wasn't a dream…

At the same time, he learned that Raidou had attacked the Mugen Tenshin on that same night, injuring Hayate in the process. Hayate disappeared one day when DOATEC managed to kidnap him while he was in the coma. Kasumi broke the shinobi code and left her village to avenge her brother. Hayate was gone for a while until Irene managed to locate Hayate in Germany and together, they brought him back. His friend had suffered amnesia during his absence and was living with Hitomi and her father until he could regain his memory.

The first thing Hayate learned when he returned home was that Kureha had been killed. He also learned that his sister had gone rouge. He became a different person than Ryu once knew. Hayate was consume with hatred and he struggled to deal with his emotions. Once he became the clan leader, Hayate's first mission was to terminate his sister. Ryu remembered their conversation…

 **Flashback**

" _We both know that Kasumi is in love with you. Whether you share the same feeling towards her is not important nor do I care about what your feelings are for her. But she trusts you, Ryu."_

" _Have you lost your mind, Hayate? Kasumi is your sister. This is going too far even for our nature."_

" _I know you've been with Kasumi. I appreciate you taking the promise you made to me seriously, but that doesn't count anymore. What Kasumi did was serious and she deserves to be punished."_

" _You need to think about this before making such decision."_

" _The decision was already made long before my return."_

" _Kasumi did what she did because she loves you…"_

" _Enough defending her action, Ryu! She decided to put our clan in more danger by taking the matter into her own hand. Kasumi was beyond reckless."_

" _What happened to you? Maybe your new rank is getting to your head. You knew Raidou was a copy ninja and yet you revealed to him your clan most powerful technique that almost destroyed your entire village, and that's not reckless? If anything, Kasumi was only cleaning up after your mess."_

" _You're really talkative when it comes to my sister, aren't you…one way or another it's over for Kasumi. Let me remind you that you're an ally, if you're not going to help then stay out of my way."_

" _I made a promise to protect Kasumi even if it means I have to go against you. If any of your men lay a single scratch on her, I won't hesitate to terminate them myself."_

" _Even as far as terminating me, Ryu?"_

" _Let's hope it won't have to get to that."_

" _What you're doing is protecting a traitor, what do you think your father will think about that?"_

 **End of flashback**

His thoughts were interrupted at the sobbing noise that came from the next room. Ryu sat up into a sitting position, frowning at the sound. He then shoved the sheet off him and got out of his room. He found himself standing outside Kasumi's bedroom door with his hand frozen in the air, reluctant whether to knock or mind his own business. Not quite know what to do he just stood there leaning against the wall crossing his arms staring down at the floor. It hurt him to hear Kasumi's pain. Despite everything, he still felt overprotective of her…

Ryu's heart raised to his throat in surprise when the bedroom door suddenly opened. Kasumi was startled as well as she hadn't expected him to still be awake.

"Hayabusa? What are you…"

"I was going to the bathroom." He replied quick.

"Oh, okay." Kasumi walked around him and disappeared towards the kitchen.

In the kitchen, Kasumi rubbed her forehead, opened a cabinet to take out a bottle of aspirin, and then poured water into a glass. Suddenly her eyes wide at the figure standing behind her when she noticed his form on the mirror of her window.

"I thought you were going to the bathroom?"

"I lied," He replied soft. "I heard you cry and I was worried about you…"

"I forgot the wall is thin in this apartment." Kasumi shoved a couple of pills inside her mouth with half glass of water followed right after.

"Are you alright?" Ryu asked.

Kasumi was quiet, for a moment.

"Truth?" She turned to look at him, "I'm a mess."

"Do you, want to talk about it?" He asked with his gaze unbearably gentle.

There was another silence…

"I'm jealous of you and Irene." Kasumi blurted.

Ryu wore a look of confusion but he let Kasumi explain instead of asking why.

"You're lucky, you know. Irene may not be perfect but she accepted you. Any other woman would have been scared if they had had known your background."

His gaze lowered at Kasumi's statement. Then set his eyes back at her, "What happened?"

"I told him about my past…" Kasumi paused, breathing in a slight shuddery breath as this was the first time she had talked about it with anyone and it wasn't easy. "He called me a liar…and delusional." Kasumi's eyes got watery. "I thought he would come back but a few days ago, I ran into his sister and she told me that he is dating someone new…" Frustrated tears began dribbling down her warm cheeks.

Ryu led his feet closer while Kasumi kept on talking and letting out everything that had bottled up inside her chest.

"How could he just move on so easily after everything we've been through?" She mumbled through her sob.

Ryu then pulled Kasumi into his arms. Her face buried in his chest sobbing. No more words needed to be said after that, it was all she needed, just someone to be there to listen. She hadn't got that many to confide in. Kasumi slowly pulled away from Ryu's embrace, "It's my entire fault…for pushing him away."

"The way you did to me…" He said low and so quietly.

That surprised Kasumi, "What?"

Ryu's gaze wide a little, clearing his throat, "Nothing…" He hadn't realized he had said his thought out loud. But Kasumi was still looking at him with a questionable frown. He said nothing more, hoping the odd tension to go away. When it didn't, Ryu ran a hand through his messy bang unsure what to say.

Though, Kasumi knew what she heard. "I…I didn't mean to push you away. I felt like a burden to you back then, so I just…" she felt the need to explain but couldn't quite get her words out properly. Why would it even matter now? she told herself. "If you had only known how much I…" Kasumi tried to proceed but her words all tangled and paused once more, realizing she sounded stupid the more she tried.

"How much, what?" Ryu was curious to know what she wanted to say.

"It's not important, anymore." Kasumi sighed shrugging her shoulders. "It was one sided anyway."

"How would you know?" He sounded defensive all sudden.

"Come on, Hayabusa. It was obvious. You were all over Irene even when I was around."

"I wanted to make you jealous." He quickly replied.

Her face held a puzzling frown, "What are you saying? You had feelings for me?" Ryu didn't response but it was telling enough for Kasumi. "Then, why didn't you tell me?"

"I didn't know, how…"

"You didn't know how to talk to me but you knew how to play games?" Kasumi shook her head ridiculously. "What about Irene?"

He gazed down not meeting her eyes since he didn't really know how to explain about how he felt about both women at the time.

"I thought you were different." Kasumi said bitter as she walked around him to go back to her bedroom.

He reached for her wrist, locking his fingers around it in a firm hold and then leaned close, "Why are you even angry? you were too stubborn to acknowledge my feelings."

Her eyes began to water again, "You wouldn't know that…"

"But I do, you pretended as if nothing had happened when I saw you again after that night."

"I was young and insecure, Hayabusa. I thought it was just a release…nothing meaningful. I was a runaway and I had a mindset of why would anyone even want to be with someone like me." A couple of tears escaped her eyes thinking about the memories of her painful past.

"I would have done anything for you." He said low and his words made Kasumi's stomach all funny.

Then a long silence filled the air between them. He left her speechless. It was just so unfair…everything. He didn't even have the right to bring that up now. Then she realized how close they were, Kasumi's shoulders tensed and a lump forming anxiously in her throat when he didn't say anything but simply stared. His hand trailed gently, rubbing at her arm until he reached her feverish warm cheek. Kasumi's heart was pounded so hard she almost forgot how to breathe. She didn't know what was happening, but something pulled their lips close, almost brushing each other. His gaze softened with something so lovely.

Kasumi retreated her face away, her eyes showed discomfort. He almost dragged her sanity with him for a second there. "You just want to get back at her…you're confused right now, Hayabusa. We're better than this."

"Kasumi..." He whispered desperate.

But she didn't want to hear any more of it. "Enough has been said for one night, more than enough." Kasumi walked away fast and out of there.

Ryu studied her back in as she disappeared from his sight. He heard the door slammed a little, and then rubbed his eyes as he let his hand scraped down his tired face, frustrated with himself.

 _What is the matter with me?_

 **New York**

"Here," Irene handed Hayate a towel. They were both soaked from the cold rain. She realized that he needed a new change of clothes. "Hold on, I'll find something dry for you to wear." She said and rushed into the bedroom.

When Irene came back out a few minutes later, she found Hayate shirtless and shivering a little, hand running through his soaking wet hair to shake out the water and the way the water dripped down his well-defined abs.

He caught her looking at him and Irene switched her gaze elsewhere awkwardly. A strange smile tugging at his mouth, "What are you so embarrassed about? It's not like you've never seen me without a shirt."

Annoyed at his statement, Irene threw the clothes at him, "Do you even know what Ryu will do to you if he sees you here? it's bad enough that he doesn't trust me anymore."

Hayate only looked at her, as he just couldn't bring himself to care about their relationship despite him taking a huge part in their problem.

"You know where the guest bathroom is," Irene reminded.

He looked strangely at the clothing in his hand, "Are these Ryu's?"

"To be honest with you, I don't know. He came home wearing them not long ago…why?"

"These are mine." He confirmed.

An impatient sigh escaped Irene, "Maybe your sister gave it to him because I doubt Ryu was in your village raiding your closet." She then turned to her bedroom to change into something more warm and comfortable herself since she was a little soaked from the cold rain.

Hayate rubbed his eyes. He had been worried about everything that he hardly gotten any sleep ever since that night. It was late and he was sleepy but it was something he had to do. While Hayate was changing, something inside the garbage can in the bathroom caught his eyes curiously.

Later, Hayate found Irene in the kitchen in her short pajamas dress with an untied silky night robe. His eyes trailed at her revealing figure. Another impatient sigh escaped Irene, all too aware of his watchful gaze. She gripped her night robe and tied it around to cover herself more. It amused him how he could get under her skin so easily, but it annoyed him when she looked at him like a pest.

He observed Irene pouring wine into her glass, and then drank it all at once. He raised a brow to that…

"You want some?" She asked him.

"I don't drink."

"Ever?"

"We are not allowed to, as we have to be alert at all time."

"That sucks." She muttered and poured another round for herself. It wasn't happening when Hayate grabbed the bottle from her hand and pour the wine down into the drain of the kitchen sink. That didn't sit well with Irene. "What are you doing?"

"You shouldn't be drinking." He said low but strict.

"What makes you think you can tell me anything?" Irene bark, marched over to take her bottle back but he blocked her. It was too late as it was now empty.

"There's plenty of where of that came from." Frustration began taking over her, "Why are you here anyway?"

"I don't think you can help me tonight, you're a mess." Hayate replied.

Irene then tried to open another bottle of wine. It wasn't long before Hayate reacted again and took if away from her.

"Leave me alone, Hayate. Why do you even care?" She raised her voice a notch at him.

"I found your pregnancy test. How can you be so reckless if you're with child?"

Irene shook her head and made a funny sound to that.

"Are you pregnant?" He asked her.

Still, Irene didn't look at him and only gave her back. When she didn't respond, it annoyed Hayate a little. "What is wrong with you?"

"What is wrong with me? my life is a joke, don't you see?" She faced him again, "My husband is half way around the world playing happy family with whatever he got going on with your sister and here I am waiting for him like an idiot…"

Hayate stood silent, letting Irene get everything out her chest despite him not appreciating her mocking his sister but he understood she was angry. Irene kept on going.

"My life would have been so much easier if I hadn't fallen for your manipulative game. I was so stupid and desperate."

"Are you blaming me again?" Hayate dislike her indirectly claim, "From what I remember you were begging for that second round."

Irene wanted to roll her eyes, "and you're so full of it. You know, Ryu is right about you."

At this point he started feeling provoked. Hayate set his gaze strict on her.

"You're a self-centered asshole who only care about yourself."

Something in him twisted uncomfortably and he took a few steps closer to her. Irene took a few steps back because the last time Hayate got that close, he had backed her up against the kitchen counter. His vibe had suddenly changed into a more intimidating despite his silent.

He looked at her dead-on serious. "You're not my wife, girlfriend, friend nor ally. You're nothing to me, so don't get comfortable. The only reason I'm here is because I believe in your skills as an agent. I need your help tracing this threat I'm facing recently. I don't have time for your feelings. If you don't want to help me, then don't waste my time."

Irene was glaring at him angrily. She took a few steps closer to Hayate, "Then get the hell out of my apartment." She pointed towards the door.

There was a brief silence between them. Hayate gave her a final furious glance before marching towards the front door without looking back. Irene followed and slammed the door as soon as Hayate was out.

…

It was a Sunday morning. Ryu was woken up by Tenzou who hopped on his belly shouting, "Wake up!" in excitement. Once he realized it was Tenzou, he kept his eyes closed pretending to be asleep still. Tenzou then leaned closer studying Ryu's face. His hand lifted forward as he poked Ryu's cheek while whispering softly, "Wake up…" he kept on poking and frowned when Ryu still wouldn't give any reaction.

Kasumi heard Tenzou being noisy in the guest room, so she went to look. The door was opened and she peeked inside. "Tenzou, don't bother Hayabusa while he's sleeping, get over here." She whispered firmed.

"Mama, Ryu is dead."

"Don't be silly." She shook her head with a faint smile.

"Look," Tenzou kept on poking Ryu's cheek, nose and his forehead.

Kasumi walked over to the bed and bent slightly at Ryu to peek closer. Until Ryu grabbed Tenzou and gently threw him onto the bed playing attacks. Kasumi placed her hand onto her heart, startled when Tenzou screamed and laughing at the same time. She couldn't help but laugh as well at the sight that warm her heart.

Soon Ryu got out of bed with Tenzou tossed over his shoulder, "Good morning." He greeted Kasumi…their eyes meeting awkwardly after last night.

"Good morning," She smiled, trying to brush off the awkwardness. "Sorry if we bothered you."

"I don't mind…" A faint smile tugging his lips.

Later that afternoon, they went to the city park. Tenzou wasted no time and ran towards his favorite playground as fast as he could.

"Slow down." Kasumi shouted.

At the beginning, Ryu and Kasumi helped Tenzou play, pushing him on the swing and waited for him by the end of the slide. After a while, they sat on a bench nearby letting Tenzou play on his own but kept their watchful eyes on him.

It was a crowded park with small children playing on the various, colorful play equipment. Now and then Tenzou would wave happily at his parents.

After their late-night incident, the pair felt a little strange being around each other when their son wasn't near them, and with Tenzou around, they have an excuse to avoid the subject. .

"About last night…" Ryu decided to break the thick silence.

"We got caught up in a strange moment, that's all." Kasumi rushed to cut him off.

"It wasn't okay, I'm a married man." He gazed down at his hand for a moment, at his wedding band.

Kasumi didn't disagree, they should leave the past in the past. There was nothing good would come out of bringing up their old emotions now.

"So, have you told Irene about Tenzou yet?" Kasumi blurted all sudden and went straight to chase.

"No," Ryu simply replied, keeping his eyes then on Tenzou.

"I really think that you should, Hayabusa. I feel terrible that you're here spending time with us but your wife doesn't know…it isn't fair to her."

The only response Ryu gave this time was an uncomfortable sigh. She couldn't tell his expression at that moment, was it annoyance? did he agree? one of the thing he often did in the past where every time she confronted him about something, he ignored her concern and opinion completely making Kasumi feel like she shouldn't have said anything. But, she supposed, he had always been fairly experienced in masking his emotion when he truly wanted to, but this wasn't a subject that could be avoided. It had to be addressed. Kasumi waited for Ryu to say something and when he didn't, she continued her thought.

"I shouldn't even have to tell you this but no matter what Irene did, she still deserves the truth…otherwise, you will be living a double life and I'm not comfortable supporting you do that. This kind of secret is dangerous, and I should know…"

"I'm aware of that." He said so quietly but meeting her gaze this time.

"Then, why haven't you?"

"My marriage has become so rocky that I…" He stopped from finishing his sentence. Kasumi was looking at him with a questionable frown so he decided to finish his thought, "I feel like I'm slowly losing Irene. I'm afraid when I tell her, I might lose her for good."

"I don't think you have much choice. Irene might be more understanding than you think and if she loves you, she will support your relationship with your son. You have higher chances to lose her by not being truthful."

Kasumi was making a lot of sense to him, but he was still doubtful. Silence surrounded them once more…

"You're different," Kasumi suddenly pointed out.

He looked at her strange, "What do you mean?"

"You're not the Hayabusa I remember. You seem more open, and somewhat… normal." Kasumi shrugged her shoulders a little.

He wasn't sure whether to feel insulted or to take it as a compliment. "How was I before, then?"

"No offence Hayabusa, but you were cold, distant, and you barely spoke a sentence. I think Irene made you…feel, she could reach you the way nobody could." Kasumi sighed when he looked at her strangely, as she probably sounded stupid as hell she thought, thinking that she might had gotten on Ryu's nerve.

"I grew up differently from you, Kasumi. After my mother passed away, my father was never satisfied with the power he got that he often traveled to the mountains to gain more power, leaving me on my own for a long period of time."

Kasumi listened to Ryu opening up about his feelings. Something he had never done before, not to her at least.

"I used to envy your brother, he had everything I never had. A family and love. Your father spent a lot time training Hayate himself. I remember feeling I wanted the same from my own father but he was never around. I had to train myself." He sighed, "That was when I began seeing Hayate as my rival, and every time he gained new power I wanted to be at his level or even better."

Kasumi noted some kind of insecurity in his voice. It was ashamed what happened between them. Throwing their friendship away just like that, she was disappointed in her brother. "You two were very close, in a strange way you were motivating each other. There's a reason why you and Hayate are the strongest amongst our clans."

Meanwhile…

Tenzou marched over to the couple of kids who were playing in the sandbox. They were a little older than him. He carefully approached them.

"Can I play with you guys?"

One of the kid looked up at him with a frown of annoyance, "Go away. We don't want to play with you."

"Why not?" Tenzou wondered.

"We don't play with babies."

Tenzou's eyebrows drew closer together, mouth curled into a frown, "I'm not a baby."

"Yes, you are. Runny nose, chubby cheeks, and you look like you're about to cry too. You're a crybaby."

They then laughed at him…

Without a warning, Tenzou snapped like a bomb without a fuse. He kicked the sandcastle they had built with so much force, the sand flew in the children's faces, making them cover their eyes.

"Don't call me a baby!" He shouted at them.

One of the boys got up and pushed Tenzou in anger sending him stumbling backward onto the ground. But he quickly got back up and went full force pushing the kid back as he too fell to the ground. Tenzou ended up getting on top of him with his fingers curled into a hard ball of fist ready to swing on the boy's face. Right before he hit him, his wrist was grabbed by Ryu and he pulled Tenzou off the boy. The other parents rushed to the scene as well.

Kasumi helped to check on the boy who laid on the ground crying…afraid that Tenzou had hurt him.

"Control your kid!" The parent told Kasumi as they pulled their kid away and left the area while giving Kasumi and Ryu a nasty glare.

"Who's a crybaby now?!" Tenzou shouted.

"That's enough." Kasumi told her out of control son as she took his hand to go home. But Kasumi paused in her steps realizing Ryu wasn't with them. She turned to look, "Hayabusa? are you coming?"

Ryu was startled and gave a simple nod, but before he could catch up to Kasumi, he gazed around a little more.

 _What is this strange aura I'm feeling?_ He felt uncomfortable but wasn't sure what to make of it…

"Hayabusa?" Kasumi called again frowning at him.

"I'll be right there," He then rushed over to her.

When they got home, Tenzou was being difficult and complaining, saying he didn't do anything wrong which didn't sit well with Kasumi.

"We agreed that you wouldn't repeat the behaviour. It is not okay to hit anyone. Go over there and think about you did until I come get you."

"They started it!" Tenzou was still determined.

"I'm not going to tell you twice." Kasumi pointed strict to a corner of the wall in the living room. Tenzou pouted heavily as he gazed up at Ryu for help.

"You heard your mother." Ryu said low but stern.

Realizing it was a losing battle, Tenzou marched his little feet to the corner obediently. Ryu and Kasumi exchanged disappointed glances. Later, they had a good talk with Tenzou. Despite he seemed to understand, it was still frustrating for Kasumi that her son had made the behaviour into a habit. Was it a phase? Personality? Something she did wrong? She couldn't help doubting her parenting skills. Tenzou was sent to bed early since he had lost his privileges that day. During bedtime Tenzou was still making a scene and refused to go to bed. He had gotten angry with Kasumi for not allowing him to watch TV and for cutting his other fun Sunday activity.

Ryu was the one who put Tenzou to bed due to Tenzou had been testing Kasumi's patience that day where she could use a little break from her son. She was glad that Ryu was there to assist her…and with her own emotions all over the place, she would only make the situation worse by yelling and taking her frustration out on her son.

After Ryu successfully put Tenzou to bed, he went to look for Kasumi in the apartment. He leaned against the doorway into the kitchen. Kasumi's back was facing him. She just stood there gazing out at the view from her kitchen window.

"Are you leaving?" She asked him.

"Yeah," He replied soft.

"He's stubborn." Kasumi sighed.

"I wonder where he got that from…" A faint smug smile stretched on the corner of Ryu's lips.

Kasumi turned to look at him with her eyebrow raised, "Are you getting smartass with me, Hayabusa?" she teased.

A soft chuckle escaped them both.

"By the way, thanks for backing me up earlier."

"If we're going to do this parenting thing, I guess we have to back each other up when needed." He replied soft.

"I like the sound of that." Kasumi responded with a small gentle smile curling to her lips.

"Tenzou seems like a different kid lately…when he doesn't get what he wants, he has this hot temper. Anything could set him off and he gets really strong and aggressive." Kasumi sighed.

"He needs discipline." Ryu added.

That made Kasumi frowned strangely, "I do discipline him but he-"

"No, that's not what I meant…"

She then held a questionable gaze at him.

"Like how you and I were disciplined and trained to control those level of emotions. Tenzou is a shinobi and has a warrior blood running through him."

"Right…" Kasumi removed her gaze and turned away from him again while rubbing her tensed neck.

Ryu knew exactly what was going on when Kasumi made that uneasy body language. It meant that she strongly disagreed with him.

"What is it?" He asked her anyway.

Kasumi was hesitant, when she turned to look at him again. "Um, I don't want Tenzou to be a shinobi nor trained as one."

An impatient sigh escaped Ryu, "But that's not up to you. It's up to Tenzou."

"Hayabusa, please don't make this harder than it should…as his parents we can create a better life for him than following a dark path. What good would come with Tenzou knowing his shinobi background?"

"You don't think I want what best for our son?"

"I didn't say that, and you can't blame me for wanting to give him a normal life." Kasumi proceeded.

"To keep his identity a secret from him will only lead to greater problems for Tenzou along the road when he is old enough to ask serious questions."

"I've made up my mind, Hayabusa."

The conversation frustrated them both.

"So, I have no say in this?" Crossing his arms, Ryu went on. "We're just going to ignore that Tenzou was born into the dragon lineage? That's the fact Kasumi, whether we like it or not…"

"I'm…aware of that, but he shouldn't bare such responsibilities…you of all people understood what that feels like, how lonely the path is…I can't put him through that."

This time Ryu held his silence. As if he agrees with her internally but he didn't really know what to do or say at that point. Kasumi felt heavy guilt washed over her at the sadden expression on Ryu's face. She too came from a clan with strict shinobi laws and she fully understood Ryu's concerned. As a mother however, she had to follow her heart and do what she thought was truly the best for her son. They were both feeling stuck on the subject…

"I can't do this now, I got to go…" Ryu said frustrated still. As he turned around, Tenzou stood not far away from him looking at his parents with a confused little frown.

Kasumi and Ryu were startled, they rushed over to him.

"Tenzou, what are you doing up? you should be in bed." Kasumi lowered and asked him.

"Please don't fight…" He said in a low concerning voice.

"No, we were just talking. Sorry if we wake you…" Ryu rushed to assure.

"Yeah, we are not fighting, so don't worry okay?" Kasumi joined.

Tenzou ran passed Kasumi to Ryu who stood behind her and threw his tiny arms around his middle in a tight hug. "Ryu, don't leave." He begged.

Kasumi and Ryu exchanged quick glances. He then lowered down to Tenzou's level. "I'm just going home a little bit, I'm not leaving you for good." Ryu tried to assure again.

"You're lying!" He shouted. "When mama and papa fight, he never came back. I promise I behave…" Tenzou's eyes got watery, he looked desperate and scared.

Kasumi felt so small and ashamed at that point. She felt like a failure as a mother…she shouldn't have worried her son with such adult issues. She couldn't believe she had hurt him like that. Ryu couldn't help but feeling the same. There was nothing hurtful to him than seeing the fear and pain in his innocent child's eyes.

"I will never do that to you, ever, and I promise I'll come back." Ryu said, voice gentle and caring.

Kasumi placed herself next to Ryu. "You know, when Ryu makes a promise, he never breaks them."

It soothed Tenzou this time when he hugged Ryu once more. Ryu lifted his gaze at Kasumi. Her stomach quiver at the tenderness of his expression.

…

After Hayate left, Irene felt her anger rose to another level. She kicked and threw whatever she could find near her, "Who the hell did he think he is?!"

Down at the street, Hayate was frustrated with himself. He should have kept his mouth shut, truth he truly needed Irene's help but she was getting on his last nerve. _How did Ryu put up with her…?_ He growled within but it didn't matter now, he would have to solve the mystery his way. He looked around his surrounding, the rain had at least stopped and the streets were suddenly crowded with people. He also noticed every person walking with their heads down and moving with maximum speed. Hayate began moving his own feet merging with the crowd. A few minutes into his walk, he passed by a violinist in a black dress and a winter jacket. Hayate paused at the sidewalk for a moment and watched. The man was playing something sweet and sad. There's velvet-line case open in front of him, half full of coins and bills. Beside him, a homeless man slept on a bench. There were a few others who had stopped to watch as well. Next to Hayate, there's a young couple holding hands, the girl with her head resting against the guy's shoulder.

It reminded him of winter in Germany, when he and Hitomi went for Christmas shopping one evening. He remembered watching a group of people on the street singing Christmas songs with Hitomi. They didn't hold hands, but she did rest her head to the side of his shoulder. He wanted to hold around her so badly at the time but he held back.

Then he thought about earlier that day, how he just ignored Hitomi when he passed her by…maybe Irene was right about him. He was a _jerk_ …

A shadow suddenly approached Hayate, standing close to him.

"I'm glad you haven't left yet, I was looking for you." Irene stated.

Hayate held a frown, "Why is that? didn't you want me gone just now?"

"I do, but I also know how to separate my personal feelings and be professional." Irene looked at him and he looked at her. "This help you want from me, does this affect Ryu in any way?"

He took his time before answering, "Yeah…"

"Then I'm going to help you." Irene said promising. That was all she needed to know.

"Thank you." Hayate simply replied.

Suddenly, someone bumped into Irene from behind sending her forcefully into Hayate's arms.

"Sorry." The stranger said as he disappeared from their sight.

"Are you alright?" Hayate asked, still holding her.

Irene quickly pulled away, "Can we just go back already?" A light awkwardness to her tone as she then began walking back to her apartment.

Hayate studied her briefly from behind before following her. He held a smug smile rather amused at the incident. But the smile quickly faded at the thought of Irene might be carrying Ryu's child.


	17. Chapter 17

After searching into the CIA database, Irene couldn't find the man Hayate had described. Whenever there were threats towards the ninjas, it could affect the rest of the mankind and CIA would get involve.

Irene rubbed her tensed neck, and then shifted her gaze at deep asleep Hayate on the couch next to her. _He looks so nice when he's quiet…_ It was cold inside the apartment, so she grabbed the sofa blanket nearby and covered Hayate with it, when he suddenly grabbed her wrist in a firm hold startling her. His eyes looked scary in the dark, they glowed in intense fiery brown color. Once Hayate's mind reconnected with reality, he released her hand.

"Sorry…" Hayate then sat up into a sitting position rubbing his tired eyes, as he hadn't even realized he had fallen asleep. "How long did I doze off?"

"About 12 hours," Irene casually replied.

Hayate's eyes quickly gazed up at the clock on the wall. It was already evening the next day… "Why didn't you wake me?"

"You looked worn out, so I didn't want to bother you." Irene yawned, unlike Hayate she didn't get much sleep and had been working all night, "There's also dinner in the kitchen if you're hungry."

Hayate rubbed his tired eyes once again with a sigh followed, "Anything?"

"No…but I'll go through with my team tomorrow, as there might be some useful information that could link to this. I have to inform Ryu as well when he gets back."

"He doesn't care." Hayate quickly replied.

"Of course he cares, sure it has been peaceful for a while, but if there's a threat towards any of us, Ryu would be the first to-"

There's a burning sensation to Hayate's ears listening to Irene trying to glorify Ryu. "I've already told him, so you don't have to give me the speech about Ryu being a hero. He made it clear he wasn't interested."

Irene shook her head. There was no reason for Hayate to be rude to her. A long silence fell on them.

Hayate soon set his gaze back at Irene, studying her a moment.

"Are you truly pregnant?" He wondered since she hadn't given him much of a response when he had asked her before.

"If you had looked at the test then you would've known." Irene was annoyed at the question.

"I didn't want to touch that thing, nor did I want to look closer at it…"

"Then you shouldn't snoop around in people's garbage now, should you?"

"Why can't you just answer a simple question?"

She quickly glared at him, "and why do I have to tell you anything? what happen to just mind your own business?" Irene annoyingly shifted where she sat and looked away from him.

He saw tears beginning to form in her eyes. Usually he wouldn't care but this time he did feel bad.

"Look, I didn't mean to…"

Irene rose from the couch as soon Hayate spoke and walked away. Just listening to his voice aggravated every nerve in her body.

Hayate was unsure what to do with the awkward situation. But he decided to go find her. He saw Irene outside of her balcony. It was freezing cold outside, but Irene didn't seem to care since she was still in her short pajamas dress and a thin robe only.

Hayate grabbed the blanket with him. He joined her outside and wrapped the soft blanket around her shoulders. Irene was a little surprised but welcomed his nice gesture.

"I didn't mean to upset you," He said again in much gentler voice.

"I never quite get why you hate me so much…" Irene wondered.

"Why do you even care about getting acknowledge by me?"

"I don't," She wrapped the blanket tighter when the chilly breeze flew by.

Then, after a brief of silence.

"…I'm not pregnant." Irene decided to respond to Hayate's earlier question.

A visible relief could be seen in Hayate's eyes. "You must be disappointed?"

A small, soft sigh left her lips. "Except that, I'm not. I was celebrating with the wine, and it sounds cruel I know."

They were standing next to each other gazing at the same view…Hayate turned his gaze sideways. He studied Irene's profile long enough for her to notice his obvious stare. Her gaze met his.

"What?" She asked him.

His gaze shifted back ahead again, "Nothing…"

Her brows drew close together, somehow, Irene felt that something was different about Hayate. She thought she saw a glimpse of vulnerability in his eyes. Usually they were cold and dismissing when looking at her.

"So, who is Kureha?" Irene asked suddenly out of curiosity.

In surprise, Hayate looked back at her suspiciously.

"You said the name a few times in your sleep…random? or does she exist?"

But he then looked away again, strictly ignoring her question.

"Fine," Irene shrugged. "But whoever that is, she is sure giving you nightmares."

His eyes slowly fell to the ground, "She was my fiancé."

"Was?" Irene then made a funny kind of sound. "Did she dump you? Well, can't really blame the girl if she did…who would put up with-"

"She's dead."

Irene made a low gasping sound and closed her eyes as she felt like an idiot for saying what she just said. "I was out of line, I'm really sorry…"

"You didn't know."

 _Damn,_ thought Irene. She was feeling sorry for him, as that couldn't have been easy on him. She also wanted to ask what happened to the girl and how did she die but refrained herself from getting too personal about his tragedy.

"Earlier, you said you talked to Ryu?" Irene instead changed the subject.

Hayate only nodded light.

"I'm guessing he was the one who put that bruise on your face…" Remembering Ryu's bruised knuckles one morning. Irene then moved a little closer to him, lifted her hand and placed it on the bruised spot. "He got you good, that must have hurt..."

Hayate was confused at the way Irene was touching him. It was soft and caring. Her touch was far more intimate than she'd probably planned. His tense face relaxed. Hayate then raised his hand and placed it on top of hers, almost like a gentle caress at first, but soon removed it off him. "I should get going…if anything comes up, you will let me know?"

"Yeah…" Irene awkwardly responded.

He turned away in a hurry to leave. When Irene impulsively gripped his arm, holding him gently. Hayate paused at her sudden touch, looking questionably at her hand and then raised his eyes back at her…

"Why don't you, stay?"

He kept looking at her for a moment longer. "What are you up to, Irene?"

She wouldn't respond but only letting out a soft sigh as she released his arm. She didn't know why she just did that.

He made a funny kind of sound before responding again. "You remember what happened the last time I keep you company, right?" then trailing his eyes at her figure in attempt to tease, "not that I would mind…"

Irene turned back around and leaned on the railing of her balcony, staring at the city view ahead slightly shaking her head. "I just asked a person who hates me to keep me company, I guess I'll never learn."

Hayate's cold eyes eased and replaced by something more tender as he studied her back.

 _I don't hate you, Irene. But I can't tell you that…_

With her back turned to him, he thought she was crying, but he wasn't sure. He wanted to put his hands on her shoulders, turned her toward him, he wanted to kiss the tears off her cheek, pull off her pajamas, take her to bed, where everything was always right between them. But her body was stiff under his hands, and when he tried to get her to turn around and look at him, she wouldn't move.

"Just go…" She told in an upset tone of voice.

"But I just return," He responded confused.

Irene made a surprise gasping sound as she turned around.

"Ryu…"

Then quickly peeked behind him.

Though Ryu wondered why Irene was looking behind him as if she had seen a ghost. "Are you, alright?"

"Yeah…I just wasn't expecting you to be home tonight."

He had missed her while he was away.

"How's Japan?"

"I'm tired, I will tell you some other time. Let's go to bed?" Ryu suggested, eyes softened.

"I want to stay out here a while longer. I'll join you in a bit?"

Ryu nodded with a faint smile, he leaned in to kiss her and then proceeded inside towards their bedroom.

Irene ran both her hands through her blonde hair and took a deep breath. She leaned back on the railing of her balcony and looked down at the street. Then, frowning…when she saw Hayate down there looking up at her. They looked at each other for a moment until he began walking away. Irene looked his way until he disappeared from her sight.

 _He knew Ryu was_ _coming_ …

But Ryu didn't seem to suspect Hayate's presence, or did he? She wondered. The whole thing was making her nervous. The cold sneaked inside her blanket making her shivered, so Irene decided it was time to go back inside.

…

Another week had quickly passed. Back at the Mugen Tenshin, Hayate sat on the grass in the Mugen Tenshin's training field taking a small break after training. Things that didn't used to bother him was beginning to bother him, such as how ridiculously nervous he was around Irene that night. W _hat is it with her?_ irritation sliced through Hayate as he wondered.

A sudden footstep behind him caught his attention and Hayate looked at the person approaching him sideways.

"Master, Hayate…" Ayane knelt in a good distance, voice anxious. She started to keep it strictly professional again when working with her half-brother.

"What did you find?" Hayate asked in an authoritative tone.

Ayane stared at the ground, she didn't answer him.

"If you don't plan on speaking then why are you here?" He said strict and impatient.

"I've…I've found, nothing…" She replied.

Hayate stood up and turned to look at his sister. He observed her carefully and Ayane kept her head down while still kneeling, hoping for him to dismiss her.

"You may go." He said soft.

Ayane quickly disappeared from the area. Hayate looked her way with a frown wrinkled on his forehead. He had been a nervous wreck for a while, getting more uneasy the longer time passes, when he couldn't find any trace on the mysterious man. Everything had led to a dead end. It puzzled him greatly.

 **Tokyo**

"Mama, look…" Tenzou clutched his mother's clothes excitedly to try to get her to look at his new drawing.

"Tenzou, I told you I'm busy right now." Kasumi was pacing back and forth doing some housework.

Tenzou was still following her around, wanting her attention. Her son was being too clingy for her that day. When Kasumi then turned around a corner, she accidently bumped into Tenzou and he stumbled backward to the floor, startling them both. He pouted and started making upset noises.

"Didn't I tell you to wait in the living room and not to follow me around? Why is it so hard for you to listen?"

The doorbell rang, and Kasumi sighed in annoyance as she wasn't in the right mood to have company. She opened the door anyway.

"Hi," Hayate smiled.

But Kasumi couldn't turn her brother away since she rarely saw him, and she had missed him.

"Should I go?" Hayate wondered since he heard Kasumi's upset tone from outside.

"No…please come in," Kasumi held the door wider.

Hayate proceeded inside and peeked at Tenzou pouting on ground.

"Tenzou, come say hi to your uncle and then go to your room and clean up your toys." Kasumi said strict but soft enough.

Hayate held his arms wide open. Tenzou rose back to his feet, walked toward his uncle but then turned around into the corner and slammed his bedroom door as hard as he could.

Kasumi inhaled a breath of annoyance and tried to gather herself from her son's rudeness.

"Well, your kid is turning into you, good job." He teased.

"You made it sound as if it's a bad thing."

Hayate burst into a small laughter of mockery.

Kasumi rolled her eyes to that. "But you seriously need to start letting me know when you come to visit."

"I'm here about a serious matter, then I'll be out of your way."

"That's not what I meant. You're always welcome, Hayate." Kasumi smiled, that soon turned into a wondering frown. "What's the matter? Should I be concerned?"

Hayate looked at Kasumi serious, as he began telling her about the mysterious threat he ran into.

Once he filled her in. "Please be careful, as we don't know who we're dealing with."

Her heart tightened uncomfortably at what she just heard. "Now you're making me paranoid…"

"As you should be until we find out more, I would not worry you otherwise."

"I believe you and I appreciate you briefing me. I wish Hayabusa was here though…I feel safer with him around." Kasumi sighed wearily.

"Don't count on him this time."

That really put Kasumi off. "Why do you always demean him? and at some point, you seriously need to stop blaming Hayabusa for her death."

Hayate didn't respond beside giving her the stare of pure annoyance.

"I don't think you're angry with Hayabusa as much as you're really angry with yourself for not being there when all occurred, but you're punishing him for it."

"Wow, are you always this annoying?" He looked at her dumb due to being provoked by her bluntness.

"I just want you to be happy Hayate. It can't be good for you to suppress your emotion like that, I can tell it's eating you up and it's not fair towards Hayabusa either. He lost her too you know."

"Do you seriously want to go there, Kasumi?" Hayate raised his voice a notch almost like a warning. He stepped closer to her because he got really aggravated with his sister at that moment but lowered his voice again to avoid Tenzou hearing them. "News flash sis, I'm a shinobi. It must be nice to live so carefree, but I can't afford feelings."

Kasumi then held her silence. She knew she had a point but so did he, so she backed off. "Alright, I didn't mean to start an argument. Just keep me updated, will you? and please be careful as well Hayate."

After Hayate left her apartment, Kasumi took out her phone to send Ryu a quick picture they had taken with Tenzou from their last weekend, with a caption, " _We miss you!"_

…

Back on the street, Hayate was considering visiting Hitomi while he was in the area. He led his feet towards her apartment. But later paused at a coincidence sight of Hitomi from across the street inside a café. She sat near the large glass window. His eyes flew suspiciously in the direction at the guy Hitomi was having coffee with. What an annoying sight, he thought. But suddenly the guy left the café and Hitomi was sitting on her own, surfing on her phone.

Hitomi almost jumped in her seat when Hayate sat himself in the seat in front of her.

"You scared me…" She said placing a hand onto her chest.

Hayate only smiled. Though he had a reason for being there, but first…

"Who was that guy? Your boyfriend?"

Hitomi responded in a small giggle. "Blunt aren't you, and why are you asking?"

Hayate adjusted his sitting position, "I don't think your father would like that. He sent you all the way here to work you know not for pleasure."

Hitomi then burst into a soft laughter as Hayate sounded jealous to her. "For your information, he's one of my partners."

He raised a brow at her suspiciously.

"Let me clear that, work partners. Geez Hayate…what kind of girl do you think I am?" Rolling her eyes.

He enjoyed teasing her but there was a reason why he's there. "I need to ask you something…"

"Okay?" Hitomi frowned as Hayate suddenly seemed very serious.

"The man we saw that night who you thought was your stalker, do you still see him around?"

She gave it a thought first, then shook her head. "I haven't seen him in a while, guess he moved on or I was just being paranoid."

Hayate let out a slow sigh at that.

"How did you know I was here by the way?" She then asked him.

"Coincidence, I was in the area."

"Ever since I got here, there's nothing but coincidences." Hitomi added.

"What do you mean?"

"I ran into your sister and then you…" Hitomi giggled. "Maybe it's not a coincidence? Maybe it's faith!"

He just looked at her with wondering eyes…

"Sorry, I talk funny sometimes." Hitomi smiled awkward.

Though that what he liked about her, she was always so positive and cheery. It was hard not to be a happy person around Hitomi.

"I didn't mean to interrupt your evening by just showing up out of nowhere, I also wanted to apologize for my behaviour. It was rude of me to disappear the way I did, and I was being a jerk when I ran into you last time..."

"No, Hayate it's fine. You're a…" She paused for a second to whisper, " _ninja…_ so I figured something important came up and you had to leave."

He appreciated her for understanding. It was rather annoying to him at the same time.

"You never doubted me…even back in Germany, when I told you who I was you didn't question me. Others would have thought I was crazy, but not you."

Her gaze fell for a moment, "I just knew you weren't lying, I guess I'm weird like that."

"Or just naive…" Hayate added, looking at her in a silly kind of way.

She frowned at his blunt statement, then shifted in her seat uncomfortably.

"I think you're a nice guy, so I didn't-"

"No, you think Ein is a nice guy. You don't know anything about me." He abruptly corrected her before Hitomi could finish her sentence.

It tore a wave of hurt right through her. Hitomi's frown deepened as she looked at him, "and I had a very good reason why I didn't question you that night…"

Now he looked at her curious of what she meant by that.

Hitomi then sighed. "But you're right, I was also naive…what wouldn't you believe when you were deeply in love with someone, right?"

The casualness in the way she said it surprised him, "You were in love with me?"

She looked at him even more strange, "You don't remember?"

Hayate shook his head in confusion…

"Well, maybe it best that you don't remember then. After all, it was all in our failed past." Hitomi sighed hopelessly once more.

"Why are you talking like that? did something happen between us?"

The conversation slowed, the silence between them suddenly stretching.

"I have an evening class to teach, see you around maybe, Hayate." Hitomi rose off her seat, paid for her coffee and headed out. But before going out the door, she turned and looked at him one more time with his back facing her…her gaze saddened, then she left.

Hayate ran both his hands through his hair in frustration.

When he returned to Mugen Tenshin late that same evening, Hayate suddenly paused by the gate when a group was coming towards him.

"Going somewhere?" He asked.

Ayane seemed rather surprised to run into Hayate.

"Last minute mission that we have to take care of…" She responded.

There was a pause where Hayate observed her for a minute. His serious gaze switched to Ayane's troop behind her, throwing them a suspicious stare before shifting his gaze back to Ayane.

Hayate then stepped aside to let them go ahead and they proceeded outside the gate. He stood staring their way with a light frown wrinkled on his forehead.

 **New York**

Ryu came out of the bathroom with only a towel wrapped around his middle. Their bedroom smells perfume and sweet. Irene had already slipped into her gown out of five gowns she had tried out. Ryu never quite understand that part of why women would stress so much about clothes they wear.

Irene frowned at her reflection from a full-length mirror. The dress was turquoise and strapless, with gold embroidery. She then turned to Ryu, "Are you getting elegant or slutty?"

He loved her, she was sweeter than any woman he'd ever met, she made him laugh, made him feel light when he could feel weighted down sometimes, but Ryu didn't answer, wouldn't answer, wouldn't even pretend that this was an actual problem. He learned his lesson that any answer he'd give, Irene would create hell for him.

She stood frowning at him, still waiting for a response. But Ryu instead stepped close to her. His hands slipped around her waist, pulling her closer.

"You look beautiful," He whispered.

For a moment she enjoyed his warm embrace and he smelled so good. But then, her expression changed into more doubtful. "I think I'm going to change…this doesn't say elegant enough." Irene slipped away and began looking for other options in her closet.

Ryu stood rooted at the same spot, wanting to roll his eyes. She always does this he thought.

"I got your tux ready." Irene said.

Ryu sighed and proceeded to get ready himself. They were going to a friend's wedding. He got ready in five minutes while Irene was still doing her makeup and trying out outfits. Ryu sighed as he wasn't usually an impatient guy, but he couldn't help it in this matter.

Meanwhile, he laid down on the bed waiting patiently. Irene glanced at Ryu now and then, he just laid there staring at the ceiling bored to death. She faintly smiled at the cute sight. It was starting to feel like the old times again. The smile faded when she thought back at the night Hayate was there…there was an unknown feeling to her that night, something about Hayate and it bothered her a little but didn't overthink it.

Ryu's phone made a sound and he lifted it to check. Irene studied him through the mirror in front of her that showed Ryu behind her. He seemed to be staring at the phone with a smile, as if he was in his own world. Seconds later, he typed something back. Irene raised her brow, wondering who he was exchanging messages with?

"Okay, I'm ready." Irene turned with a smile.

The rest of the evening went swiftly. They had fun in the wedding. Despite their own problems in the marriage, they were able to put their troubles aside and enjoy the occasion and be happy for the newlywed couple. Irene could tell that Ryu was truly trying to make things work between them. He was loving again, he began engaging more…she should be happy, right?

Later that night when the pair came home, they got ready to go to bed. Irene took a shower. When she came out of the bathroom, she found Ryu sitting on the edge of their bed. Irene then marched over and placed herself next to him on the bed. Neither said anything for a moment. Several times she thought he might be ready to speak his mind, but he just sat there.

"Is this how it's going to be from now on?" Irene broke the silence.

He only frowned at her.

"Every day just going through the notion, fake it until you make it type of marriage?"

"Irene, when you start talking like that, we might end up arguing."

"But not talking is just not working for me anymore. We need to talk, Ryu, no matter how uncomfortable the subject is…we need to start being honest with each other."

Ryu took his time, then shifted towards her so he could face her. "Alright," He softly replied.

Irene was a little surprised, she expected avoidance.

"I guess I go first." She paused, but not for too long and went straight to it. "I took a pregnancy test…"

Ryu's eyes grew wide, he looked more concern than surprise.

"And no, I'm not pregnant." She quickly cleared.

His heart burst in relief.

"I was relief too, trust me."

He looked back at her, eyes fill with guilt. "I don't mean to seem relief…it just that, it would have been a bad timing for us."

"But will there ever be a good timing for us, Ryu?"

To that Ryu's gaze fell briefly. "It's just that, sometimes, I have a feeling that you don't really want to have children with me."

"Well…at first, I wasn't so fond of the idea due to our culture differences, but I know we would find a way to make it work." Irene rolled her shoulder into a faint shrug. "and I'm not saying that we should have soon, things are a little messy right now…"

"I agree," He replied.

Once she got that conversation out of the way…

"Your turn," Irene then said.

Ryu's frown deepened, "My turn?"

"Isn't there anything you want to talk about?"

Irene was hoping that it was the time Ryu would confess to her, as she still wanted that honesty straight from his own mouth. They can never move on unless he told her. But Ryu looked pressured and nervous. It frustrated Irene but she wouldn't push it just yet. "You know, let's just go to bed. We can talk more some other time…baby steps, right?"

He only responded with a light nod but disappointed in himself. He wasn't prepared.

Later that night, Ryu still laid awake. He thought about the threat Hayate told him, the eerie feeling he got when he saw Tenzou's drawing, and then that suspicious hostile aura he sensed at the park. Was he paranoid because of what Hayate told him or was it legitimate concerns? He couldn't really tell…

He then studied deep asleep Irene. Kasumi was right, he wanted to get back at Irene when he tried to kiss her. What the hell was he thinking? he had no plan on giving up on his marriage. He was still madly in love with Irene. She was the one he had decided to settle with for better and for worse, as he took his vows seriously. They could get pass all the hurtful past and start over. He was also fully aware that he would have to be honest and tell her about Tenzou.

Ryu's phone suddenly made a beeping sound. He reached for it on the nightstand and peeked at it in curiosity. He received a message…

…

Something woke Kasumi up from her slumber in the middle of the night and she looked toward her bedroom door wondering if Tenzou had tried to knock to get to her room, as something he would occasionally if he had nightmares. Curious and sleepy, Kasumi climbed down her mattress and hurried to open the door just in case but saw no Tenzou outside. She then went to her son's room just to double check on him.

Kasumi gently pushed the door open to peek, when an intense cold breeze hit her. She pushed the door open with wondering eyes. The window was open, and she rushed to close it. When she turned to Tenzou's bed, it was empty. Then began searching the living room, kitchen, guest bedroom and every corner in her apartment.

"Tenzou?" Kasumi began calling frantically.

She felt her heart speed up and fear strike her chest when her son was nowhere to be found.

* * *

 **Besweet:** So _sorry guys for a slow update, a lot been happening that I had to push writing aside. Life gets in the way sometimes. I really miss this story and I hope you enjoyed this chapter. I will try not to let you wait for too long until next chapter. Thank you for taking your time to read._


	18. Chapter 18

Ryu and Kasumi walked leisurely inside the Mugen Tenshin's main gate together. They had been summoned to the village by Hayate. On the way, they caught a few eyes glaring their way. It wasn't new to Kasumi however, as the villagers had been giving the same judgmental stare the few times she had visited. Abandoning their villages and duties for modern world way of living was not exactly greatly looked upon in their carefully disciplined community. Though despite Kasumi had no regrets for her choices, she could see the visible discomfort in Ryu's eyes.

A short moment later, they waited patiently in the meeting room. Hayate hadn't inform them much besides asking them to wait.

"What are we doing here, Hayate?" Ryu finally decided to ask, feeling like they were wasting time by standing around staring at the wall.

"Had I known more I would have told you." Hayate replied.

"Then, why are we even here again?" Ryu repeated himself, as he had thought that Hayate had more information about the matter.

"We will find out soon, just trust me." Hayate replied again.

"Trust you?" A ridiculous kind of expression displayed on Ryu's face.

"I want to find Tenzou just as much as you do, Ryu."

The tension between the two men was thick around the air. But a sudden loud noise outside caught their attention.

"Finally," Hayate mumbled low.

A sound of a helicopter that had landed nearby. Then soon after, someone walked inside the meeting house to greet them.

"What took you so long?" Hayate complained.

"I can't teleport, remember? and trying to locate this place was almost impossible, but I guess it doesn't call village Hidden in The Mist for no reason."

Ryu's eyebrows were shot upwards. "Irene?"

She looked at him with a gentle smile. "Hi…" Then her gaze shifted to Kasumi who stood next to her husband with their shoulders brushing each other. The sight of Kasumi triggers the turmoil inside her, but Irene kept her demeanor professional.

"What are you doing here?" He then asked her.

Kasumi felt a slight awkwardness at the sudden reunion, but she too didn't forget of why they were there in the first place.

"Let's get to it, as we don't have that much time." Irene responded in a rush and serious. She began explaining. "We've been gathering intel of a dangerous organization called M.I.S.T."

The new information left them all frowning with curiosity.

"M.I.S.T?" Hayate wondered. "I thought for sure DOATEC was involved this time somehow…"

Irene smirked at that. "Well, you're not completely wrong."

"What do you mean?" Hayate frowned.

"Are you ready for this?" Irene then proceeded, "M.I.S.T is a secret organization within the DOATEC."

"Like a backup organization?" Kasumi joined, looking seemingly concerned.

Irene nodded. "We all thought that DOATEC and all its inhuman projects were destroyed, right? But we barely scratch the surface. Those bastards have always been one step ahead of us."

Ryu was slightly confused. "What exactly are they conducting within this secret organization?"

"Advance inhuman experiments, creating clones to make them soldiers through your unique DNAs to use them as weapons, practically everything that have crazy attach to it." Irene then paused briefly, "…and the perfect reason why they need your son."

Ryu didn't blink for a moment at the last sentence that came out of Irene…he looked at her surprised and Irene looked back at him rather awkwardly. That wasn't really the way she wanted that conversation to happen about Tenzou, but the circumstances had changed.

Voice anxious, Kasumi then asked. "What do you mean by them needing my son?"

"You and Ryu are one the strongest shinobi and kunoichi of the current generation, and your son has the perfect combination of your DNAs. My guess is, instead of capturing both of you, Tenzou was the easier target. He is the fuel they need to create these soldiers."

Kasumi's stomach tightened uncomfortably. "Do you know where he is?"

"We don't know how many facilities they have, they could be spread all over the world. There is one base that we've discovered in Japan, but I don't know if they have your son in that facility exactly. I can't guarantee anything…"

Kasumi gasp anxiously at the information. She had been trying to stay strong for the last couple of days. Ryu then placed a hand on Kasumi's shoulder to try and ease her, "We will find Tenzou."

She turned to him. "But what if Tenzou is not there? What if we're too late?"

"You shouldn't just give up before even trying." Hayate told her strict.

"She's just scared, Hayate." Ryu quickly replied.

A soft, barely audible sigh left Kasumi at that.

"He's most likely there." A sudden voice responded behind them and they all turned their heads toward the voice in full curiosity.

Ayane marched over. "One of my man saw them brought in a child a few days ago." When she approached closer, Ayane paused at the sight of Irene.

"What the hell is she doing here?" She asked Hayate while pointing at Irene.

"I'm here to help." Irene replied. "Got a problem with that, kid?"

"You mean you want to use us ninjas for your own benefit?"

"The irony." Irene then mumbled low and sarcastically.

"Irene will be involved whether you like it or not. It's not your call." Hayate simply replied.

"But Master Hayate-"

"Did I stutter, Ayane?" He looked at her strict.

After briefly glaring at Irene, "Fine." Then took her backpack off her shoulders, dipped her hand inside and pulled a few things out. She handed Hayate the photographs of the DOACTEC facility's surrounding that she had managed to capture from her recent spy mission.

Irene was impressed since her team had been struggling to get near the place since it's a highly guarded area. The ninjas however have higher skills in sneaking ability. "Let's study the pictures and form a closer plan."

Not wasting anymore time, they gather close and began looking at the pictures Ayane had provided. After a moment of discussion, they agreed to attack at the night fall and everybody knew what to do and where to meet.

"I'll head back to prepare and brief the rest of my team. See you all soon." Irene said.

She exchanged a quick personal glance with Ryu as she walked pass him. He took the hint and followed her outside to where the helicopter was parked.

Once they were out of everyone's hearing range, "I wanted to tell you…" Ryu said with guilt in his voice.

Irene moved a little closer to him. "I got time to digest…I mean, it must not have been easy for you to try and tell me either, especially when our marriage was already on the edge, so I get it."

It's amazing to him how she just understood him. "I didn't know either until not long ago."

"Why would she keep your son a secret from you all this time?"

Ryu rubbed his neck tiredly. "I wondered the same, but it doesn't matter now as it won't change the past."

Irene thought that she would feel resentful about the fact, and she was at first, but she had to accept the harsh reality. It made her resentful towards Kasumi for hurting Ryu…as what kind of mother would do that, taking that right away from their child and the father. But then who was she to criticize? she thought, as what kind of wife would sleep with their husband's best friend and lied about it for years. She was no better...

"How did you find out?" Ryu wondered.

"Hayate told me…"

She noticed how his eyes shifted from soft to slight annoyance. "Hayate told me by accident, he thought I already knew."

"I don't care about him. I just wish, that you had heard from me first." He replied.

Irene slightly shook her head. "It wouldn't change the fact Ryu, it is what it is…we'll find a way to deal with this later. Clearly we're going to need some new adjustment."

His gaze then slowly fell to the ground with guilt and worry clouded his entire face. Irene felt bad for her husband, he must be feeling guilty about not being able to protect his son.

"Hey…" She softly called, as her hand reached up to his cheek to comfort his hopeless expression. He looked back at her. "I will do everything I can to save your boy, and I need you to be your old self again. That cold shinobi that will do anything to get the mission done."

Ryu's eyes soon changed into much colder eyes as if something suddenly fueled him. Usually, Irene dislike those cold eyes looking at her, but in this case, she needed him to be the merciless shinobi he once was.

In the distance, Kasumi walked away rather in a rush, looking seemingly upset. They looked her way at the same time.

"You should go comfort her." Irene said, making him look at her rather strangely. "She looked like she was about lose it back there which can't be easy on any mother, but this mission won't be easy, and I need Kasumi on her top game."

"Alright." Ryu replied, "Fly safe." He then placed a quick kiss to her cheek.

"See you tonight." Irene proceeded towards her helicopter when she saw Hayate approaching towards her. She instinctively turned to see if Ryu was still in sight.

"What, are you scared that he might see us alone?" Hayate said as he stood in front of Irene with his arms crossed.

She raised her brow at him, "Excuse me?"

"Stop playing dumb, Irene."

"What the hell is that suppose to mean?" She wondered in annoyance.

Though Hayate refused to reply. Their eyes suddenly caught heat when locked on each other, and yet neither of them looked away.

Irene cleared her throat to defuse some tension. "Was there something else you wanted to say? Because you're delaying me from my work."

"I wanted to say, thank you."

"You have a funny way of thanking people." Irene then sighed. "Well, don't thank me just yet. We could still fail this rescue mission…"

"We got somewhere to start, that's something, and I didn't even think you would help me when I asked."

"What makes you think I'm doing this for you?" Irene turned away and gave him cold shoulders to proceed back to the helicopter.

As she flew away, she glanced below at Hayate one more time.

…

A moment later, Ryu found Kasumi sitting alone on a bench under a Sakura blossom tree on the quieter side of the village. Kasumi looked sideways when Ryu sat himself beside her. Neither spoke for a moment…time couldn't have gone any slower for them.

"This must be your favorite spot in the village, as you used to come and sit here on your own when you were younger too." He tried to start a conversation.

It was still somewhat funny to Kasumi hearing Ryu speak in long sentences. "And how did you know that, Hayabusa? Were you stalking me?" She tilted and raised a brow at him in attempt to tease.

Ryu didn't respond, and he didn't blink either. How telling was that face of his she thought.

"You really did stalk me, didn't you?" Kasumi almost wanted to chuckle at that. "Not creepy at all, Hayabusa."

He looked at her sideways and then looked ahead again. "You were my childhood crush. Back then, I didn't know how to approach you as I was really shy… so most of the time I just ended up staring at you from a distance."

Kasumi's eyes grew large in surprised, "I was your crush?"

He frowned strange, "I thought you knew?" now scratching his forehead in a slight embarrassment.

"What made you think that I did?" Kasumi put a hand to her mouth to hide her growing smile.

"Kureha and Hayate threatened to tell on me one time to make me do stupid things and when I refused, I assumed they did…"

"Those two loved to play pranks, they probably wanted you to sweat." She then sighed. "Funny, because I've always thought you liked Kureha."

"I did…much later on."

"So, you moved on from me huh?" She smiled silly again, "Did you ever tell her Hayabusa?"

He shook his head at that, "I didn't want to ruin my friendship with her, besides, she was into your brother…"

Then suddenly, silence filled the air between them when bad memories proceeded and clouded their minds, because not long after that, their childhood ended abruptly when Kureha was killed, Hayate was captured by DOACTEC and Kasumi became a rogue ninja. Both their expression changed back to seriousness and back to their current reality.

After a moment of silence…

"I should have protected Tenzou." Kasumi said, voice slightly shaking.

He wanted to tell her that she shouldn't blame herself, but his words never got far enough as he too was blaming himself for not protecting their son.

"After Takeshi left, Tenzou wanted my attention a little more than usual…" She proceeded about what had troubled her, "but I pushed him away like he was a menace, and now he must be feeling so alone, he must be thinking that I don't love him." Guilt tearing at her heart.

"Tenzou would never think that way about you. We have to be strong for him."

"Did we just turn blind eyes to the fact we are not normal like everybody else around us, Hayabusa? Isn't that why you asked me once if everything was just an escape? Are we just running away from our own reality?"

He only sighed at her words. It put pressured to his mind as he felt conflicted about the matter…

"My point was, we should have been more aware about our surroundings, clearly there were clues and signs." Kasumi continued.

Then he suddenly thought of something. "You're right, because that drawing of Tenzou's of a tall man wearing a hat…"

Kasumi frowned a little. "What about it?"

"I felt this eerie feeling that Tenzou wasn't just drawing any random man."

"I thought the drawing was you or Takeshi at first, but when I asked Tenzou, he said it was his friend that he sometimes talked to in the park. I'm with Tenzou at all time and I didn't see anyone talking to him." It confused Kasumi trying to think back at what she could have missed.

"Park…" Ryu thought more, "That weekend when we were at the park, I sensed something hostile and dark-"

"And what the hell did you do about it, Ryu?!" Hayate suddenly appeared with Ayane beside him, startling them both. Ryu quickly glared at Hayate.

"I told you about this didn't I? I warned you that this guy might be after Kasumi and Tenzou."

Ryu then got up from the bench and walked closer to Hayate as he wanted to hear this.

"You picked up signs and energy, as shinobis we should never question our sharp senses and yet, you just ignored them when we could have done something sooner."

"Are you blaming me for my son's disappearance?" Ryu questioned but kept his demeanor calm.

Hayate got even closer to Ryu's face. "You knew something was up, but did you inform anyone? Did you stick around to make sure Tenzou was safe? You couldn't just wait to go home to your wife instead because you're more concerned about her being too lonely than your own son's safety."

"Hayate, that's enough!" Kasumi firmly told him.

"I don't have to worry about Irene when I have you keeping her company for me. You think I don't know what you've been up to?"

"What are you going to do about it? Why do you think Irene keeps coming back for more?" Hayate made a mockery kind of smirk at that.

Kasumi gazed down at Ryu's tightly fisted hand that had her really beginning to worry.

"And just like that night, you won't do anything about it, you just watched _her_ slowly die right in front of your eyes and you wonder why you keep losing your precious ones around you? Because you're a coward, Ryu."

In seconds, Hayate's back slammed onto a tree nearby with a dangerous force. Ryu stared Hayate down with his death glare, daring him to speak that way to him again, startling Ayane and Kasumi as they didn't even see him moved.

"What does it make you, huh? that's why you ordered me to kill Kasumi instead, right?" Growling low to Hayate's face to avoid Kasumi from hearing him.

Ayane and Kasumi rushed to try and separate them.

"What are you doing?!" Kasumi raised her voice, looking at both with concerning eyes. "This is not the time to go against each other." She gripped Ryu's arm. "Hayabusa, let him go." When he ignored her, her gripped tightened, "Please…"

Kasumi's desperate voice got through him, as he suddenly released his hold of Hayate…concerned Ayane quickly checked on her brother as he coughed a little. Ryu's gaze switched to Kasumi who looked back at him with teary eyes, then he looked back at Hayate.

Despite Kasumi and Ayane stopped them from killing each other, both still didn't take their deadly stare off each other.

Kasumi shook her head in disappointment, "I'll do this alone if I have to…how can I count on any of you if you're going to act like children?" She had been trying to stay strong all day.

Hayate got up and walked pass Ryu to leave, but he briefly paused beside him and whispered. "Lay your hand on me again, it won't end well for you."

Ryu however was unmoved by Hayate's threat. After Hayate left, Ryu stood quietly with his gaze lowered and his angry expression changed into something softer. Kasumi studied him a little and when she saw his green, green eyes saddened, hurt swelled within her chest.

She approached closer and placed her hand onto his cheek. "Hayabusa…" somehow, she wanted to comfort him.

A small sigh escaped him. "There's something I need to do…I see you tonight." He said as he gently removed her hand away and disappeared from the area.

Kasumi couldn't do nothing but stumbling dazedly back onto the bench burying her face in between the palms of her hands, her throat closed up and her heartbeat began to pound wildly. Unable to contain herself together anymore, tears finally filling her cheeks.

"We will get Tenzou back you know."

Slightly startled at the voice behind her, Kasumi turned to look. She didn't realize Ayane was still there.

Though, she wasn't particularly reassured. "You sound a little too confident…"

"You're the mother, instead of sulking, you should believe in your kid and yourself more."

"You can't just wait to insult me can you, Ayane?" Frown deepened in annoyance.

"I wasn't trying to, I'm trying to harden you. You can't walk into a battlefield as an emotional wreck."

Kasumi wanted to roll her eyes. "I survived years of a runaway, I think I know the drill. Trust me, I will make sure whoever did this will not breathe another day." Clenching her teeth at her last sentence.

"We wouldn't have to deal with this had you done your job properly the first time."

Kasumi looked at Ayane in a strange confusion. "What are you talking about?"

Then a look of reluctance strike Ayane's face, looking like she had said something she shouldn't. "We should get ready." As she turned to leave, Kasumi quickly rose to grab her by the arm.

"Ayane, what did you mean just now?"

Ayane gazed down at Kasumi's hand in annoyance as she yanked it off her arm. Then raised her eyes back at her.

"Raidou."

Kasumi's eyes widened…

"He was likely the guy Hayate ran into…and before you ask how I know, I've been shadowing his movements, though I didn't know what they were planning." Ayane continued.

"What? How is he even alive?" Kasumi was beyond confused.

"He looks different though…as if they had done something to rebuild him." Ayane explained further with a strange frown.

"Let's go tell Hayate and Hayabusa about this." Kasumi rushed pass her sister.

But Ayane caught up quickly as she stood in front of Kasumi to block her from going further. "This is why I didn't want to tell you. Every time I tell you something, you always run to Hayate with your big mouth."

"Don't you think we should tell them before heading out there?"

A frustrated sigh left Ayane, "Do you know what Hayate will do to me? I withheld information from him…I need you to shut up on this one."

Kasumi went from confusion to more confusion, "You're that scared of Hayate?"

"You don't know how he can be…"

"I think I do." Though she was still confused, "But why didn't you tell Hayate of Raidou in the first place, then?"

"What makes you think I want to tell you?" Ayane then turned to leave again.

Kasumi rolled her shoulders into a faint shrug. "Fine, Ayane. If you're not going to tell Hayate, then I will because this concerns my son and he should know who we are dealing with."

…

Not long after their conversation, Ayane observed Kasumi outside of Hayate's house from afar. She was beyond frustrated with Kasumi telling on her. Soon they seemed to be done talking and Hayate went inside his house. Kasumi stood there and looked her way as she caught a sight of her sister from the distance. They locked eyes briefly until Kasumi began walking away.

Ayane then thought for a second…

She knocked on Hayate's door and he told her to come in. She found him in his weaponry room. His back was facing her as he gathered and preparing shuriken and kunai knives amongst other things to bring with him later for that night.

"What is it, Ayane?" He asked since she was just standing there.

His deep voice startled her, "I need to talk to you…"

"About?"

"About my recent mission, and I didn't mean to keep secrets from you." Ayane went straight to the chase.

"So, why did you?" He asked with his back still facing her, but before Ayane could reply, "and why did you lie to me a few days ago when asked if you had found anything?"

"Well, I wanted to handle things on my own…but I made it into a personal matter. I know now it was stupid." She replied.

Hayate finally turned to face her and he studied her for a moment. Ayane still wasn't sure if Hayate was pissed due to his calmness. It could mean anything.

The fresh cut wound on Ayane's cheek made Hayate frowned a little, so he walked over to her and placed a hand on the fresh cut. "What happened?" He asked caringly.

"We were ambushed on the way back…but we took care of it."

"Good." Hayate smiled faintly.

Ayane looked at him in surrendering kind of look. "So, you're not angry with me?"

"No, I'm relief." He replied.

Causing her to frown strangely. "Relief? Why?"

Hayate then sighed and rubbed his eyes. "Because I thought you were involved in kidnapping Tenzou."

"What?" Ayane raised her voice a notch in surprised. "Master Hayate, why would you think that of me?"

He took his time before responding. "I regret thinking so…I haven't seen you ever since that evening I ran into you by the gate, and it was the same evening Tenzou disappeared. I thought you hated Kasumi that much... you've also been distant and secretive with me, so I don't know what to think anymore."

Ayane's gaze fell to the ground, disappointment clouded her entire face. "…do you seriously think I could be that evil?" her voice cracked a little and gaze still lowered, "That I could ever betray you that way…?"

"I'm really sorry I doubted you, Ayane." Hayate felt rather bad for letting those thoughts of his sister to ever crossed his mind.

"I guess it's my own fault for being dishonest. Kasumi was right, I should have told you about Raidou in the first place."

Hayate looked surprised all sudden. "What did you just say?"

"Wasn't that what Kasumi just talked to you about?"

"Kasumi was yelling at me for hurting her precious Hayabusa's feelings."

Now she just wanted to leave before Hayate would ask more question.

"What the hell is this about?" He asked rather concerned.

Ayane had no choice but to explain herself. After a brief of explanation, "I wanted to finish him myself this time, as Kasumi stole that chance from me, but I didn't know they were after Kasumi's kid and that changed my mind."

Hayate began going back and forth in the room while grabbing his tensed neck, then he looked back at Ayane. "What is the matter with you? This is not a competition, Ayane!"

The anger in his voice startled her. "I will make it up and do my best to assist you tonight sir."

"Well, you're not coming with us." Hayate firmly told her as he grabbed a paper nearby to write something in it, then quickly went to the window and called after his hawk. He chained the message on its foot and send it flying away immediately.

"Master Hayate, you cannot do this to me now..." Ayane desperately begged.

Hayate faced his sister again and looked at her dead-on. "There's something else I need you to do."

She looked at him curious, wondering what he had in mind. "What is it?"

"I need you to guard Hitomi and keep her safe."

Ayane's eyes grew wide, somewhat insulted. "You want me to babysit your bimbo for you, sir?"

"Is this a joke to you?" He didn't like her attitude.

"Why do I have to do it? I'm more useful fighting alongside you tonight."

Hayate shook his head at the fact that he had to keep explaining and wasting his time. "Who else will do it then?"

"But…" She tried to argue further but he didn't let her.

"Hitomi is precious to me, Ayane. They knew of her whereabout and I don't think that was a coincidence. I'm just not taking any chances and I know you're capable of keeping her safe. I can't trust anybody else right now to do it."

Ayane noticed the sudden fear in his eyes…he was dead serious, and she didn't want to disappoint him, so she dropped her pride.

"Okay, I got it. I will protect Hitomi."

…

Ryu stood staring at the Dragon sword that was carefully looked after in his father's home in the Hayabusa village.

"It must be a very serious mission if you had come back to claim the Dragon sword."

"It is…" Ryu simply replied to his father.

"Do you have anyone to assist you? Do you need any help?"

"We got it covered but thanks father."

"We?"

"Hayate and I…"

"Well, there's a good chance you will succeed if Hayate is involves. He doesn't play around when it comes to his duties and has always completed any missions given. Good luck, son."

Ryu turned slightly sideways, rather annoyed listening to his father praising Hayate. Then when his father left the room, he looked intensely back at the sword.

The evening arrived, and it was time to meet everybody else. Ryu got ready and hurried out of the village, but before he did, he made a brief visit to his best friend Kureha's grave.

"Wish me luck." He whispered, as his fingers slide down her name on the stone.

Then he hurried back out when someone caught up to him and walked right beside him. He abruptly paused with a deep frown. "Where are you going?"

"I'm coming with you, Master Ryu."

"I can't allow you, Momiji. You have a young child to take care of…"

"Her father is looking after her while I'm away."

"I still can't let you come with me."

"I don't mean to disrespect Master Ryu, but I cannot disobey Hayate's order. I'm the best medic on the field…you need me." She replied confidently.

"You're taking orders from Hayate?" He mused.

"Hayate has been helping our clan for a while now. This is the least I can do to help our neighbor clan in need."

Ryu sighed in more amusement. Hayate sure had become almighty around his village. But despite how he could no longer stand Hayate's gut, he had to admit that he was glad Hayate will fight alongside him on this mission. He had always respected Hayate's skills as a shinobi and he would have to put all those resentful emotions aside because in a mission, teamwork is everything.

They both looked up to the sky when Hayate's hawk flew towards them. Ryu reached out his hand and unchained the message off its foot.

"What does it say, Master Ryu?"

"Just more bad news…let's go." He said and Momiji nodded determined.


End file.
